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D 


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D 


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I      I    Covars  damaged/ 


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Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
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The 
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This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

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28X 

32X 

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illustrent  la  m^thode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

6 

6 

N 


lADTHOR 

IN  ] 


COUNT   FRONTENAC 


AND 


NEW     FRANCE 


UNDER   LOUIS   XIV. 


BY 


FRANCIS   PARKMAN, 


[author  of  "pioneers  op  PRAWOE  is  the  new  world,"  "the  JESUITS 

IK  NORTH  AMERICA,"  *'  THE  DISCOVERT  OP  THE  GREAT  WEST," 

AND    "THE    OLD    BBOIMB    IN   CANADA." 


TIMRTEENTH   EDITION. 


BOSTON: 
LITTLE,   BROWN,  &    COMPANY 

1884. 


■  / 


224f8ft 


O  5 


^  7 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1877,  by 

FRANCIS  PARKMAN, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


University  Press:  John  Wilson  &  Son, 
Cambridge 


PREFACE. 


^HE  events  recounted  in  this  book  group  them- 
res  in  the  main  about  a  single  figure,  that  of 
mt  Frontenac,  the  most  remarkable  man  who 
\r  represented  the  crown  of  France  in  the  New 
irld.     From  strangely  unpromising  beginnings, 

grew  with  every  emergency,  and   rose  equal 
[every   crisis.     His   whole   career   was   one   of 

lict,  sometimes  petty  and  personal,  sometimes 
[momentous  consequence,  involving  the    ques- 
of    national    ascendency   on   this   continent, 
that  this  question  is  put  at  rest  for  ever,  it 
lard  to  conceive  the  anxiety  which  it  wakened 

mr  forefathers.     But  for  one  rooted  error  of 

ich  policy,  the  future  of  the  English-speaking 
js  in   America  would   have   been   more   than 

mgered. 

Fnder  the  rule  of  Frontenac  occurred  the  first 

)us    collision   of    the   rival   powers,   and    the 

ling  of  the  grand  scheme  of   military  occu- 

|on   by  which   France   strove  to  envelop   and 

in  check  the  industrial   populations  of   the 


Vill 


PilEFACE. 


English    colonies.     It    was    he    who    made    [[ 
scheme   possible. 

In  "  The  Old  Regime  in  Canada,"  I  tried 
show  from  what  inherent  causes  this  wildeme 
empire  of  the  Great  Monarch  fell  at  last  befr 
a  foe,  superior  indeed  in  numbers,  but  lacking 
the  forces  that  belongs  to  a  system  of  civil  fi 
military  centralization.  The  present  volume  w 
show  how  valiantly,  and  for  a  time  how  succe 
fully,  New  France  battled  against  a  fate  wliiij 
her  own  organic  fault  made  inevitable,  li 
history  is  a  great  and  significant  drama,  enac: 
among  untamed  forests,  with  a  distant  gleam 
courtly  splendors  and  the  regal  pomp  of  Y 
sailles. 

The  authorities  on  which   the   book  rests  i 
drawn  chiefly  from  the  manuscript  collections 
the  French  government  in  the  Archives  Nati 
ales,  the   Bibliotheque   Nationale,  and,  above  | 
the  vast    repositories    of    the    Archives    of 
Marine    and    Colonies.      Others   are   from   Cai 
dian   and    American    sources.     I    have,    hesn 
availed  myself  of  the  collection  o|  French,  E 
lish,   and    Dutch    documents    published    by 
State  of  New  York,  under  the  excellent  editl 
ship  of  Dr.  O'Callaghan,  and  of  the  manusc 
collections  made  in  France  by  the  governmei 
of  Canada  and  of  Massachusetts.     A  consideral 
number  of  books,  contemporary  or  nearly  so 


PREFACE. 


events   described,  also   help   to   throw   light 
m  them ;  and  these  have  all  been  examined, 
citations    in    tlie    margins   represent   but   a 
ill  part  of   the  authorities  consulted, 
i'his  mass  of   material    has  been  studied  with 
peme  care,  and  peculiar  pains  have  been  taken 
jcure  accuracy  of  statement.     In  the  preface 
"The  Old  Regime,"  I  wrote:  "Some  of   the 
ilts  here  reached  are  of  a   character  which  I 
ret,  since  they  cannot  be  agreeable  to  persons 
whom   I    have  a  very  cordial    regard.      The 
jlusions  drawn  from  the  facts  may  be  matter 
)pinion :  but  it  will  be  remembered  that  the 
themselves  can  be  overthrown  only  by  over- 
awing  the   evidence   on   which   they   rest,  or 
^ging   forward    counter-evidence   of    equal   or 
iter  strength ;  and  neither  task  will  be  found 
jasy  one." 

le  invitation  implied  in  these  words  has  not 
accepted.  "The  Old  Regime"  was  met  by 
sment  protest  in  some  quarters;  but,  so  far 
know,  none  of  the  statejnents  of  fact  con- 
|ed  in  it  have  been  attacked  by  evidence,  or 
challenged.  The  lines  just  quoted  are 
illy  apphcable  to  this  volume.  Should  there 
>ccasion,  a  collection  of  documentary  proofs 
be  published  more  than  sufLcient  to  make 
the  positions  taken.  Meanwhile,  it  will,  I 
:,  be   clear  to  an  impartial   reader  that  the 


z* 


PREFACE. 


story  is  told,  not  in  the  interest  of  any  rac 
or  nationality,  but  simply  in  that  of  historici 
truth. 

When,  at  the  age  of   eighteen,  I   formed  tl, 
purpose  of  writing  on  French-American  hlstor 
I    meant   at   first   to   limit   myself   to    the   grci 
contest  which    brought   that   history  to  a    cloy 
It  was  by  an  afterthought  that  the  plan  was  oi 
tended  to  cover  the  whole  field,  so  that  the  pa: 
of  the  work,  or  series  of  works,  first  conccivt 
would,  following  the  sequence  of  events,  be 
last  executed.     As  soon   as    the  original  schen 
was   formed,  I   began    to  prepare  for   execiitii: 
it  by  examining  localities,  journeying  in  foros 
visiting    Indian    tribes,  and   collecting    materia 
I  have  continued  to  collect  them  ever  since,  > 
that  the  accumulation  is  now  rather  formidable 
and,  if  it  is  to  be  used  at  all,  it  had  better 
used   at   once.     Therefore,  passing   over  for  tt| 
present   an    intervening   period   of    less   (Jeci^ 
importance,  I  propose  to  take,  as  the  next  su 
ject  of   this  series,  "  Montcalm  and   the  Fall  i 
New  France.'* 


Boston,  1  Jan.,  1877. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  L 
1620-1672. 

COUNT  AND  COUNTESS  FRONTENAO. 

^moisclle  de  Montpcnsier  and  Mndame  de  Frontenac.  —  Or- 

ins.  —  The  Marcchnle  dc  Cnnip. — Count   Frontenac. — Con- 

Igal  Disputes.  —  Early  Life  of  Frontenac.  —  His  Courtship  and 

[arriapo.  —  Estrangement.  —  Scenes    at    St.   Fargeau. —  The 

idy  of  Honor  dismissed. — Frontenac  as  a   Soldier.  —  He  is 

le  Governor  of  New  France.  —  Les  Divines    ...... 


CHAPTER  n. 
1672-1675. 

FRONTENAC   AT   QUEBEC 

—  Bright  Prospects.  —  The  Three  Estates  of  New  France. 

jSpeech  of  the  Governor.  —  His  Innovations.  —  Royal  Dis- 

isure.  —  Signs  of  Storm.  —  Frontenac  and  the  Priests.  — 

I  Attempts  to  civilize  the  Indians.  — Opposition. —  Complaints 

Heart-burnings II 


CHAPTER  in. 
1673-1675. 

FRONTENAC  AND  PEBROT. 

lie.  —  Fort  Frontenac.  —  Perrot.  —  His  Speculations.  —  His 
ranny.  —  The  Bush-rangers.  —  Perrot  revolts.  —  Becomes 
rmed.  —  Dilemma  of  Frontenac.  —  Mediation  of  F^nelon.  — 
rot  in  Prison.  —  Excitement  of  the  Sulpitians.  —  Indignation 
f^nelon.  —  Passion  of  Frontenac.  —  Perrot  on  Trial.  —  Strange 
Bnes.  —  Appeal  to  the  King.  —  Answers  of  Louis  XIV.  and 
bert.  —  Fe'nelon  rebuked 28 


xu 


CONTKNTS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

1676-1082. 

FHONTKNAO    AND   DITCH ESNR AH. 

Frontennc  receives  a  Collcaj^ue.  —  lie  opposes  the  Clergy.  —  T)ii. 
putes  in  the  Councjil. — Hoynl  Intervention.  —  Frontenac  re 
bukcd.  —  Fresli  ()utl)reak».  — CImrges  and  Coiinterchargcs.— 
The  l)iH|)ute  fjrows  hot. — DucheHncau  condemned  nnd  Fronte- 
nac warned.  —  Tlie  Quarrel  continues.  —  The  Kinj?  loses  Pa 
tience.  —  More  Accusations. — Factions  and  Feuds.  —  A  Side 
Quarrel. —  Tlie  King  threatens.  —  Frontenac  denounces  the 
Priests.  —  Tlic  Governor  and  the  Intendant  recalled.  —  Quali 
ties  of  Frontenac j 


CHAPTER  V. 
1682-1084. 

LB   FEBVRB  DB   LA   BAHRB. 

His  Arrival  at  Quebec. — The  Great  Fire.  —  A  Coming  Storm. - 
Iroquois  Policy.  —  The  Danger  imminent. — Indian  Allies  o! 
France.  — Frontenac  and  the  Iroquois.  —  Roasts  of  La  Barre.- 
His  Past  Life.  —  His  Speculations.  —  He  takes  Alarm.  —  Hii 
Dealings  with  the  Iroquois.  —  His  Illegal  Trade.  —  His  CoM 
league  denounces  him.  —  Fruits  of  his  Schemes.  —  His  Anger 
and  his  Fears 


CHAPTER  VI. 


1684. 


LA  BARKB   AND  THE   IROQITOIS. 

Dongan.  —  New  York  and  its  Indian  Neighbors.  —  The  Rival  Gok 
emors.  —  Dongan  and  the  Iroquois. — Mission  to  Onondaga.-* 
An  Iroquois  Politician.  —  Warnings  of  Lamberville.  —  Iroquo! 
Boldness. — La  Barre  takes  the  Field.  —  His  Motives.  —  Tin 
March.  —  Pestilence.  —  Council  at  La  Famine.  —  The  Iroquoij 
defiant.  —  Humiliation  of  La  Barre.  —  The  Indian  Allies.- 
Their  Rage  and  Disappointment.  —  Recall  of  La  Barre    . 


CONTBNTa 


Zlll 


CHAPTER  VIL 

1686-1687. 

t 

DF.NOXVILLB    AND   DONOAIf. 

leiof  the  New  fiovcrnor.— His  Character.  —  English  Rlr- 

Intrijjucs  of  Dongnn.  —  Knglish  Clahns.  —  A  Diploma* 

iDuel.  —Overt  Act«.  — Anger  of  Denunville.  —  James  II. 
{ks    Dongan.  —  Dt'iionville   I'mbohlcneil.  —  Strife    in   the 
—  Hudson's  Bay.  —  Attempted   Pacification.  —  Artifice 
snonville. —  He  prepares  for  War 116 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
1687. 

DBHONVILLB   AND    TIIM    BKNBOAt. 

Bry  of  Denonville. — Iroquois  Generosity.  —  The  Invading 
ly.  —  The  Western  Allies.  —  Plunder  of  P'nglish  Traders.  — 
ival  of  the  Allies.  —  Scene  at  the  French  Camp.  —  March  of 

)nville.  —  Ambuscade.  —  Battle.  —  Victory.  —  The  Seneca 
jgrlon.  —  Imperfect  Success 189 


CHAPTER  IX. 
1687-1689. 

THE   IROQOOTS  INVA8IOW. 

Itions.  —  Attitude  of  Dongan.  —  Martial  Preparation.  — 
slexity  of  Denonville.  —  Angry  Correspondence.  —  Recall  of 
Igan.  —  Sir  Edmund  Andros  —  Humiliation  of  Denonville. 
Mstress  of  Canada.  —  Appeals  for  Help  —  Iroquois  Diplo- 
7.  —  A  Huron  Macchiavel.  —  The  Catastrophe.  —  Ferocity 
lie  Victors.  —  War  with  England.  —  Recall  of  Denonville    . 


1C8 


CHAPTER  X. 

1689,  1690. 

RETURN   OF   FRONTENAC. 

Ic8.  —  Frontenac  and  the  King.  —  Frontenac  sails  for  Que- 

[  —  Projected   Conquest  of   New  York.  —  Designs  of  the 

—  Failure.  —  Energy  of  Frontenac.  —  Fort  Frontenac.  — 

Ic.  —  Negotiations.  —  The  Iroquois  in  Council.  —  Chevalier 

IX.  —  Taunts  of  the  Indian  Allies.  —  Boldness  of  Frontenac. 

Iroquois  Defeat.  —  Cruel  Policy.  —  Tlie  Stroke  parried  . 


184 


ZIV 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XL 
1690. 

THB  THREE  WAR-PABTIES. 

Measures  of  Frontenac.  —  Expedition  against  Schenectady.  —  The 
March.  — The  Dutch  Village. —  The  Surprise. —  The  Massa-, 
ere.  —  Prisoners  spared.  —  Retreat.  —  The  English  and  their 
Iroquois  Friends.  —  The  Abenaki  War.  —  Kevolution  at  Bos- 
ton. —  Capture  of  Pemaquid.  —  Capture  of  Salmon  Falls.  - 
Capture  of  Fort  Loyal.  —  Frontenac  and  his  Prisoner.  —  The 
Canadians  encouraged 

CHAPTER  XIL 
1690. 

HASSACHUSETTS    ATTACKS  QUEBEC. 

English  Schemes.  —  Capture  of  Port  E'>yal.  —  Acadia  reduced. - 
Conduct  of  Phips.  —  His  History  anc  Character.  —  Boston  m, 
Arms.  —  A  Puritan  Crusade.  —  The   March  from  Albany. -I 
Frontenac  and  the  Council.  —  Frontenac  at  Montreal.  —  Hii 
War  Dance.  — An  Abortive  Expedition. —  An  English  Raid.- ■ 
Frontenac  at  Quebec.  —  Defences  of  the  Town.  —  The  Enemj 
arrives , 


!,i 


CHAPTER  Xm. 
1690. 

DEFENCE  OF  QUEBEC. 

Phips  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  —  Phips  at  Quebec.  —  A  Flag  of  Truo 

—  Scene  at  the  Chateau.  — The  Summons  and  the  Answer- 
Plan  of  Attack.  —  Landing  of  the  English.  —  The  Cannoiiai 

—  The  Ships  repulsed.  —  The  Land  Attack.  —  Retreat  of  Pliip 

—  Condition  of  Quebec.  —  Rejoicings  of  the  French.  —  Distrt. 
at  Boston 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
1690-1694. 

THE   SCOURGE    OF  CANADA. 

Iroquois  Inroads.  —  Death  of  Bienville.  —  English  Attack.— | 
Desperate  Fight. —  Miseries  of  the  Colony.  —  Alarms. —i 
Winter  Expedition.  —  La  Chesnaye  burned.  —  The  Heroine  j 
Verchferes.  —  Mission  Indians. — The  Mohawk  Expedition.  ■( 
Retreat  and  Pursuit.  —  Relief  arrives.  —  Frontenac  Triumpliacj 


CONTENTS. 


XV 


CHAPTER  XV. 

1691-1695. 

AN   INTERLUDE. 

il  of  Frontenac.  —  His  Opponents.  —  His  Services.  —  Rivalry 
Strife.  —  Bishop  Saint- Vallier.  —  Society  at  tlic  Chateau. 
[Private  Tiieatricals.  —  Alarm  of  the  Clergy.  —  Tartuffe.  — 
:  Singular  Bargain.  —  Mareuil  and  the  Bishop.  —  Mareuil  on 
^al.  —  Zeal  of  Saint- Vallier.  —  Scandals  at  Montreal.  —  Ap- 
il  to  the  King.  —  The  Strife  composed.  —  Libel  against  Fron- 


817 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

1690-1694. 

THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA. 

^f  that  Colony.  —  The  Abenakis.  —  Acadia  and  New  Eng- 
1.  —  Pirates.  —  Baron  de  Saint-Castin.  —  Pertegoet.  —  The 
flisli  Frontier.  —  The  French  and  the  Abenakis.  —  Plan  of 
[  War.  —  Capture  of  York.  —  Villebon.  —  Grand  War-party. 
Lttack  of  Wells. — Pemaquid  rebuilt.  —  John  Nelson. —  A 
ten  Treaty.  —  Villieu  and  Thury.  — Another  War-party. — 
icre  at  Oyster  River 836 

CHAPTER    XVn. 

1690-1697. 

NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND. 

itier  of  New  England.  — Border  Warfare.  —  Motives  of  the 

kch. —  Needle.:8   Barbarity. —  Who   were   answerable?  — 

^er  Thury.  —  The  Abenakis  waver.  —  Treachery  at  Peraa- 

,  —  Capture  of  Pemaquid.  —  Projected  Attack  on  Boston.  — 

^pointmect.  —  Miseries  of  the  Frontier.  — A  Captive  Am- 


870 


CHAPTER   XVm. 

1693-1697. 

FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY. 

oe  d'lberville.  —  His  Exploits  m  Newfoundland.  —  In  Hud- 
Bay.  —  The   Great  Prize.  —  The   Competitors.  —  Fatal 
of  tlie  King.  — The  Iroquois  Question. — Negotiation. — 
ncss  of  Frontenac.  —  English  Intervention.  —  War  renewed, 
ite  of  the  West.  —  Indian  l^lp'omacy.  —  Cruel  jNIeasures. 
iPerilous  Crisis.  —  Audacity  of  Frontenac 888 


XVI 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


1696-1008. 


FRONTENAO  ATT. 


r    THE  ONOMDAOAS. 


March  of  Frontenac.  —  Flight  of  ihe  i^inemy.  —  An  Iroquois  Stoic 
—  Relief  for  the  Onondagas.  —  Boasts  of  Frontenac.  —  Hij 
Complaints.  —  His  Enemies.  —  Parties  in  Canada.  —  Views  of 
Frontenac  and  the  King. — Frontenac  prevails. — Peace  of  Rys- 
wick. —  "^rontenac  and  Bellomont.  —  Schuyler  at  Quebec. - 
Festivities.  —  A  Last  Defiance , 


^. 


W 


CHAPTER  XX.  * 

1698. 

DEATH  OF  FROMTBITAO. 

His  Last  Hours.  —  His  Will.  —  His  Funeral.  —  His  Eulogist  andj 
his  Critic.  —  His  Disputes  with  the  Clergy.  —  His  Character. 


CHAPTER  XXL 
1699-1701. 

CONCLUSION. 

The  New  Governor.  —  Attitude  of  the  Iroquois.  —  Negotiations. -| 
Embassy  to  Onondaga.  — Peace.  —  The  Iroquois  and  the  Allieij 

—  Difficulties.  —  Death  of  the  Great  Huron.  —  Funeral  IHteii 

—  The  Grand  Council. —  The  Work  of  Frontenac  finished.-! 
Results 

APPENDIX 

INDEX 


I 'I 


ffDAOAS. 

An  Iroquois  Stoic. 
Frontenac.  —  Hli 
anada.  —  Views  of ' 
Is.  —  Peace  of  Ros- 
ier at  Quebec.-^ 

•        ••••• 


•  His  Eulogist  andi 
>  His  Cliaracter. 


—  Negotiations.-! 
[uois  and  the  Allieil 
I. —  Funeral  Riteil 
}ntenac  finished.- 

•        ••••• 


^  %3iOA" 


?N<t. 


•         •         •        « 


CANADA 

# 

l/'T"  CEMTURY. 


O^tfcj^ 


W^. 


v 


.y 


^^ 


^0  >  — 


C; 


^ 


e 


"1c 


,7;-:,:.'     ',  '-^v  .v^/w-i^/i-t 


Sp-^l^^f    O.V  7j/(  /  " 


^$ 


'■'-1 


Trrti 


^"^i'fc?« 


^-^ 


1^  Srf»  / 

ft  ^  ,•..<' 


(0 

-a 


lA.  .._",  (<v-    Q). 


V 


-■■t 


^  -. 


,,«-  ^^ 


o  \  - 


'^"3 


O 


■■■>>K 


.r--*- 


V  0  W  Iv. 


/**«'*w^j>*»i^ 


•?,,-■ 


<;.«*•»" 


j\l,IW 


I  \  ,'      r  •> 


f 


V..;  .»'  <Y 


^'^^■^^m^^---; 


^ir 


^'^.../■-y  .-'.^^^  v|v?  ,/ 


^ 


V. 


**        4  / 


}  f  w 


/^Ji^'" 


I 
//Wf 


^       X.^  ^^^  A^ 


4 

4 


f         .      h?^^..,\       %'^- 


^    c 


«  \  /^-^  N  * 


^^    :M'>^^-"^-...- 


'/''/./ 


g 


S\''5v^*4; 


V  0  IJ  Iv^l 


■Or!ni<i<* 
oi'.AIixtiiv 


^Haverhill 


M  A  S  sf  A  »•  H  IT  S  K  T  T  s\         ^«); 


*  i 


r 


ii 


<V  '• 


CANADA 

•  fotfitrt/.v  f/n-  rttMt' 


y^^ 


'"/, 


W*  CENTURY. 


rv 


A/ii 


i4tMk 


h\ 


>UNT  FRONTENAC  AND  NEW  FRANCE 
UNDER  LOUIS  XIV. 


-•<>»■ 


CHAPTER  I. 


1620-1672. 


COUNT  AND  COUNTESS  FRONTENAC. 

BM018ELLE    DE    MONTPENSIER     AND    MaDAME    DE    FrONTENAC.  — 

ILEANS.  —  The  Mareciiale  de  Camp.  —  Count  Frontknac. — 
>NJUGAL  Disputes.  —  Early  Life  of  Frontenac.  —  Ilia 
)URTSinp  AND  Marriage.  —  Estrangement.  —  Scenes  at  St. 
kRGEAU.  —  The  Lady  of  Honor  dismissed.  —  Frontenac  as  a 
>ldii:r.  —  IIb    is    made   Governor  of    New    France.  —  Les 

fVINES. 

[t  Versailles  there  is  the  portrait  of  a  lady, 
itiful  and  young.  She  is  painted  as  Minerva, 
imed  helmet  on  her  head,  and  a  shield  on  her 
In  a  corner  of  the  canvas  is  written  Anne 

\a  Grange- Trianon,   Comtesse  de  Frontenac. 

blooming  goddess  was  the  wife  of  the  future 
jrnor  of  Canada. 

[adame  de  Frontenac,  at  the  age  of  about 
ity,  was  a  favorite  companion  of  Mademoiselle 
[ontpensier,  the  grand-daughter  of  Henry  IV. 
[daughter  of  the  weak  and  dastardly  Gaston, 
[e  of  Orleans.  Nothing  in  French  annals  has 
[d  more  readers  than  the  story  of  the  exploit 
lis  spirited  princess  at  Orleans  during  the  civil 


in 


)  . 


('. 


|-' 


2 


COUNT  AND  COUNTESS  FRONTENAC. 


IK 


war  of  the  Fronrlo.  Tier  cousin  Conde,  chief  of  t:' 
revolt,  had  found  favor  in  her  eyes ;  and  slie  1 
espoused  his^cause  against  her  cousin,  the  kir. 
The  royal  army  threatened  Orleans.  The  dulj 
her  father,  dared  not  leave  Paris;  but  he  0'| 
sented  that  his  daughter  should  go  in  his  place 
hold  the  city  for  Conde  and  the  Fronde. 

The  princess  entered  her  carriage  and  set 
on  her  errand,  attended  by  a  small  escort.  )T| 
her  were  three  young  married  ladies,  the  Marqd 
de  Breaute,  the  Comtesse  de  Fiesque,  and  j 
Comtesse  de  Frontenac.  In  two  days  they  reaci| 
Orleans.  The  civic  authorities  were  afraid  to 
clare  against  the  king,  and  hesitated  to  open 
gates  to  the  daughter  of  their  duke,  who,  stadij 
in  the  moat  with  her  three  companions,  tried 
suasion  and  threats  in  vain.  The  prospect  was3 
encouraging,  when  a  crowd  of  boatmen  camej 
from  the  river  and  offered  the  princess  their 
vices.  "  I  accepted  them  gladly,"  she  wrii 
"  and  said  a  thousand  fine  things,  such  as  one  eJ 
say  to  that  sort  of  people  to  make  them  do  i 
one  wishes."  She  gave  them  money  as  well 
fair  words,  and  begged  them  to  burst  open  om 
the  gates.  They  fell  at  once  to  the  work  ;  ^vj 
the  guards  and  officials  looked  down  from 
walls,  neither  aiding  nor  resisting  them, 
animate  the  boatmen  by  my  presence,"  she 
tinues,  "  I  mounted  a  hillock  near  by.  1  die 
look  to  see  which  way  I  went,  but  clamy 
up  like  a  cat,  clutching  brambles  and  thorns, 
jumping   over    hedges   without    hurting    raj] 


] 


ORLEANS. 


Ijiine  (le  Breaut^^,  who   is  the  most  cowarrlly 

Ltiiro  in  the  world,  began  to  cry  out  agninst  me 

everybody  who  followed  me ;  in  fact,  I  do  not 

(w  if  she  did  not  swear  in  her  excitement,  which 

^eed  nie  very  much."     At  length,  a  hole  was 

jked  in  the  gate ;  and  a  gentleman  of  her  train, 

had  directed  the  attack,  beckoned  her  to  come 

"  As  it  was  very  inuddy,  a  man  took  me  and 

led  me  forward,  and  thrust  me  in  at  this  hole, 

re  my  head  w^as  no  sooner  through  than  the 

IS  beat  to  salute  me.     I  gave  my  hand  to  the 

lin   of    the   guard.      The    shouts   redoubled. 

men  took  me  and  put  me  in  a  wooden  chair. 

not  know  whether  I  was  seated  in  it  or  on 

arms,  for   I   was   beside   myself   with   joy. 

^body  was  kissing  my  hands,  and  I  almost 

vith  laughing  to  see  myself  in  such  an  odd 

ion."     There  was  no  resisting  the  enthusiasm 

[e  people  and  the  soldiers.     Orleans  w^as  won 

le  Fronde.' 

young  Countesses  of  Frontenac  and  Fiesque 

lonstantly  followed  her,  and  climbed  after  her 

jgh  the  hole  in  the  gate.     Her  father  wrote 

[mpliment  them   on   their  prow^ess,  and   ad- 

jd    his    letter    ct  Mesdames    les    Comtesses^ 

shales  de    Camp   dans   Varmee  de  ma  fille 

le  3Iazarin.      Officers   and     soldiers   took 

the  pleasantry ;  and,  as  Madame  de  Fronte- 

issed  on  horseback  before  the  troops,  they 

[d  her  with  the  honors  paid  to  a  brigadier. 

ten  the  king,  or  Cardinal  Mazarin  who  con- 

j^oires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier,  I.  858-363  (ed.  1859). 


.ii 


:'it 
I.) 


4       COUNT  AND  COUNTESS  FUONTENAC. 

trolled    hiin,  had    triumphed   over   the    revo!i| 
princes,   Miideinoisolle    de    Montpensier   paid 
penaUy  of  her  exploit  by  a  temporary  banisln 
from  the  court.     She  roamed  from  place  to  p! 
with  a  little  court  of  her  own,  of  which  Mudj 
de  Frontenac  was  a  conspicuous  member.     Di 
the  war.  Count  Frontenac  had  been  dangoroi 
ill  of  a  fever  in  Paris ;  and  his  wife  had  been  al 
for  a  time,  attending  him.     She  soon  rejoined 
princess,  who  wa.^  at  her  chateau  of  St.  Fari:i 
three  days'  journey  from  Paris,  when  an  inci 
occurred  wdiicli  placed  the  married  life  of  lieri 
companion  in  an  unexpected  light.     "  The  DJ 
esse  de  Sully  came  to  see  me,  and  brought  witli 
M.  d'Herbault  and  M.  de  Frontenac.    Frontenacl 
stopped  here  once  before,  but  it  was  only 
week,  when  he  still  had  the  fever,  and  took  j., 
care  of  himself  like  a  man  who  had  been  at! 
door  of  death.     This  time  he  was  in  high  lie;! 
His  arrival  had  not  been  expected,  and  his 
was  so  much  surprised  that  everybody  observe] 
especially  as  the  surprise  seemed  to  be  not  at  l|j 
pleasant  one.     Instead  of  going  to  talk  with 
husband,  she  went  off  and  hid  herself,  crying  S 
screaming  because  he  had  said  that  he  would" 
to  have  her  company  that  evening.     I  wasi''^ 
much  astonished,  especially  as  I  had  never  )ji|^ 
perceived  her  aversion  to  him.     The  elder  ( 
tesse  de  Fiesque  remonstrated  with  her;  but  «! 
only  cried  the   more,     Madame  de  Fiesque 
brought  books  to  show  her  her  duty  as  a  wife ; 
it  did  no  good,  and  at  last  she  got  into  such  a  M 


M 


KAHLY  LIFE  OF  FHONTEN'AC. 


we  sent  for  the  euro  with  holj  water  to  exor- 


10  r. 


"  1 


into  such  a  M 


Knit  Frontenac  came  of  an  ancient  and  noble 

said  to  have   been  of   Basque   origin.      His 

|r   hold    a    high    post    in    the     household    of 

XIII.,  who  became   the  child's   god-father, 

rave  him  his  own  name.     At  the  age  of  fif- 

tlio  young  Louis  showed   an  inconti'ollable 

m  for  the  life  of  a  soldier.     He  was  sent  to 

ICMt  of  war  in  Holland,  to  serve   under  the 

ie  of  Orange.     At  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  was 

luntoer  at  the  siege  of  Hosdin;  in  the  next 

he  was  at  Arras,  where  he  distinguished  him- 

[uring  a  sortie  of  the  garrison  ;  in  the  next,  he 

)art  in  the  siege  of  Aire  ;  and,  in  the  next,  in 

of  Callioure  and  Perpignan.     At  the  age  of 

^y-three,  he  was  made  colonel  of  the  regiment 

>rmandy,  which  he  commanded  in  repeated 

Is  and  sieges  of  the  Italian  campaign.      He 

jveral  times  wounded,  and   in  164G  he  had 

broken  at  the  siege  of  Orbitello.     In  the 

year,   wdien   twenty-six  years  old,  he   was 

to  the  rank  of  marechal  de  camp,  equiva- 

that  of  brigadier-general.     A  year  or  two 

we  fmd  him  at  Paris,  at  the  house  of  his 

\,  on  the  Qua!  des  Celestins.'* 

the    same    neighborhood   lived  La  Grange- 

)n,  Sieur  de  Neuville,  a  widower  of   fiiiy, 

wires  de  Mademoiselle   de  Monfpensier,  II.  265.     Tlie  curd's  holy 
his  exhortations,  were  at  last  successful. 

ird,  C/imw!ofjie  Historirjue-militdire,  VI. ;  TnlJe  de  la  Gazette  de 
Jal,  Dictinnmiire  Critique,  Bioijraphifjne,  et  d'llistoire,  art.  "  Fron^ 
Goyer,  Oraison  Funebre  du  Coiiite  de  Frontenac. 


■if 
Mi 

i 

i 


6 


COUNT  AND  COUNTKSS  FUONTKNAC. 


with  one  child,  a  (hiiightcr  of  sixteen,  wlnnij 
had  placed  in  the  charge  of   his  relative,  Miirj 
de  Bouthillier.     Fiunteiiac  fell   in  love  with 
Madame  de   Bouthillier  opposed   the   malcli.^  j^^i 
told  La  Grange  that  he  might  do  hetter  fi 
daughter  than  to  marry  her  to  a  man  wIk 
what  he  might,  had  hut  twenty  thousand  I'm^ 
year.     La  Grange  was  weak  and  vacillating  : 
times  he  listened  to  his  prudent  kinswoinai^gg^, - 
sometimes  to  the  eager  suitor;   treated  hiiiiuA«|i 
son-in-law,  carried  love  messages  from  him 
daughter,  and  ended  by  refusing  nim  her  h;ii  ^j 
ordering  her  to  renounce  him  on  pain  of  beiiij 
mured  in  a  convent.     Neither  Frontenac  iii 
mistress  was  of  a  pliant  temper.     Tn  the  rJ 
borhood  was  the  little  church  of  St.  Pieml 
Boeufs,  which  had  the  privilege  of  uniting  ct 
without  the  consent  of  their  parents ;  and  liej 
a  Wednesday  in  October,  1648,  the  lovers  i 
married  in  presence  of  a  number  of  FrontJ 
rehitives.     La  Grange  was  furious  at  the  discol 
but  his  anger  soon  cooled,  and  complete  recoij 
tion  followed.* 

The  happiness  of  the  newly  wedded  pii) 
short.  Love  soon  changed  to  aversion,  at  le 
the  part  of  the  bride.  She  was  not  of  a  ij 
nature ;  her  temper  was  imperious,  and  she] 
restless  craving  for  excitement.  Frontenac, «||g|t{| 
part,  was  the  most  wayward  and  headstn 
men.     She  bore  him  a  son  ;  but  mateninlatalu^ 

'ticdd 

»  Ilistoriettes  de  Tal'emant  de$  Riaux,  IX.  214  (ed.  Monnicrq.     -^* 
Dictionnaire  Critique,  etc.  W  BPiyi 


)NTKNAC. 


CIIARACTEIl  OF  FIIONTENAC. 


qxtcen,  ^vliO!:^^ 
relative,  M;i', 
in  love  with 

[   the   mutch, ^^|j,^^,  ^\^^,  foi'tunes  ot  Madeinoisel 
do  better  forf 
)  a  man  nvIio 
thousand  Ira 
vaciUating: 
it  kinswomiu 

treated  hm  u^||}j.,t  is  more  to  our  purpose  are  the  sketehea 
QH  from  hui\  molB  here  and   there  by  the  same  sharp  pen,  in 

one  may  discern  the  traits  of  the  destined 
r  of  New  France.     Thus,  in  the  following, 
him  at  St.  Fargeau  in  the  same  attitude  hi 
we  shall  often  see  him  at  Quebec, 
princess  and  the  duke  her  lather  had  a  dis- 
uching  her  property.     Frontenac  had  lately 
t  Blois,  where  the  duke  had  possessed  him 
is   own   views   of    the    questions   at   issue, 
ingly,  oh  arriving  at  St.  Fargeau,  he  seemed 
d   to   assume    the   character   of    mediator, 
anted,"  says  the  princess,  "to  discuss  my 
with  me :  I  listened  to  liis  preaching,  and 
spoke  about  these  matters  to  Prefontaine 
an  of  husmess).     I  returned  to  the  house 
ur  promenade,  and  we  went  to   dance,   in 
eat  hall.     While  we  were  dancing,  I  saw 
aine  walking  at  the  farther  end  with  Fron- 
and  headstriMMSJ^^  who  was  talking  and   gesticulating.     This 
but  matern:uS^ilKied  for  a  long   time.      Madame  de    Sully 
ticii  it  also,  and  seemed  disturbed  by  it,  as  1 
U9 Myself.    I  said,  ^  Have  we  not  danced  enough  ? ' 


'  mm  her  haiir] 
n  pain  of  Ix-ii  ^^ 

Frontenac  iir, 
er.     In  the  m 

of  St.  Piem 

of  uniting  cci 
rents ;  and  lie: 
8,  the  lovers 
ber  of  Front 
us  at  the  disco 

omplete  recoi 

y  wedded  p; 
aversion,  at  V'^ 
as  not  of  a 
:ious,  and  islue 
Frontenai  •( 


.  214  (ed.  Moniiui: 


8 


COUNT  AND  COUNTESS  FRONTENAC. 


C 

1 


1 


Madame  cle  Sully  assented,  and  we  went  o)it 
called  Prefontaine,  and  asked  him,  '  What  -n-— ^ 
Frontenac  saying  to  you?'  lie  ''^^^^^^'ered :  ^^ ^^ 
was  scolding  me.  I  never  saw  such  an  impcrfii  ^^^ 
man  in  my  life.'  I  went  to  my  room,  and  Miira  • 
de  Sully  and  Madame  de  Fiesque  followed,  rm^ 
dame  de  Sully  said  to  Prefontaine  :  ^  I  was  \.:^^  , 
much  disturbed  to  see  you  talking  with  so  n 
warmth  to  Monsieur  de  Frontenac ;  for  he  < 
here  in  such  ill-humor  that  I  was  afraid  he  M|g  -.^j^j 
quarrel  with  you.  Yesterday,  when  we  were  Ii  ^^j  g^ 
carriage,  he  was  ready  to  eat  us.'  The  Coin  jj^J^jj^ 
de  Fiesque  said,  '  This  morning  he  came  to  8t 
mother-in-law,  and  scolded  at  her.'  Prefonij 
answered :  '  He  wanted  to  throttle  me.  I  ii 
saw  a  man  so  crazy  and  absurd.'  We  all  four  h. 
to  pity  poor  Madame  de  Frontenac  for  having?^ 
a  husband,  and  to  think  her  right  in  not  wan 
to  go  with  him."  ^ 

Frontenac  owned  the  estate  of  Isle  Savan 
the  Indre,  not  far  from  Blois ;  and  here,  soon  s 
the  above  scene,  the  princess  made  him  a  i 
"It  is  a  pretty  enough  place,"  she  says,  " 
man  like  him.     The  house  is  well  furnished. i 
he  gave  me  excellent  entertainment.     He  !^bi 
me  all  the  plans  he  had  for  improving  it,  and  gr^t  d 
ing  gardens,  fountains,  and  ponds.     It  would  :>  J^^a 
the  riches  of  a  superintendent  of  finance  to  cxo 
his  schemes,   and  how  anybody  else  should  on 
ture  to  think  of  them  I  cannot  comprehend'  lis  %  h 

"While  Frontenac  was   at   St.  Fargeaii,"|Hfcuc 

1  M^moires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier,  U.  267.       I^^B  Mi 


ip 


d 


W9 


•NTENAC. 


M 


SCENES  AT  ST.  FARGEAU. 


9 


ve  went  out, 


im, 


What 


lues,  "  he  kept  open  table,  and  many  of  my 
je  went  to  dine  with  liim ;  for  he  affected  to 
ans^yered:  "^^  court,  and  acted  as  if  everybody  owed  duty 
h  an  impcrtii:^  ||j^  rpj^^  conversation  was  always  about  my 
>om,  and  Madgp^^^.j^lj  i^;^  ji^y.^i  Highness  {her  father),  whose 
3  followed.  r)jj^ct  towards  me  was  always  praised,  while 
ne  :  'I  was  ^jj^^j^^  blamed.  Frontenac  spoke  ill  of  Prefon- 
ig  with  so  i^iin^and,  in  fine,  said  every  thing  he  could  to  dis- 
lac;  lor  he  f|ejy|0  ^le  and  stir  up  my  own  people  against  me. 
afraid  he  ^vj^  |^ig(,(|  every  thing  that  belonged  to  himself, 
ni  we  were  niQ^^ever  came  to  sup  or  dine  with  me  Avithout 
The  Coiiii^^jjg  Qf  some  ragout  or  some  new  sweetmeat 

had  been  served  up  on  his  table,  ascribing 
the  excellence  of  the  officers  of  his  kitchen, 
ry  meat  that  he  ate,  according  to  him,  had 
rent  taste  on  his  board  than  on  any  other. 
his  silver  plate,  it  was  always  of  good  work- 
ip ;  and  his  dress  was  always  of  patterns  in- 
by  himself.  When  he  had  new  clothes,  he 
d  them  like  a  child.  One  day  he  brought 
e  to  look  at,  and  left  them  on  my  dressing- 
We  were  then  at  Chambord.  His  Royal 
ess  came  into  the  room,  and  must  have 
t  it  odd  to  see  breeches  and  doublets  in 
ent.  He  ^li'icJi^  place.  Prefontaine  and  I  laughed  about  it 
ving  it,  and  'gr^t  deal.  Frontenac  took  everybody  who  came 
?.  It  would  )  IS^ai  geau  to  see  his  stables ;  and  all  who  wished 
inance  to  cxd  gipi  his  good  graces  were  obliged  to  admire  his 
else  should  orsflf,  Avhich  were  very  indifferent.  In  short, 
3mprehen<l'  lis  p  his  way  in  every  thing."  ^ 
:.  Fargeau,"Sfcugli  not  himself  of    the  highest  rank,  hia 

msier,  11.  267.       -|^B  Manoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier,  II.  279 ;  III.  10. 


e  came  to  m'r 
er.'  Prefoiit; 
tie  me.  I  ii 
We  all  four  b(, 
Lcfor  having  j| 
t  in  not  waiiij 

ew 

f  Isle  Savan 

d  here,  soon  ^^ 
lade  him  a  | 
she  says,  'mQ 
11  furnished  i( 


I  ; 


i    i 


Jl 


f 


10 


COUNT  AND  COUNTESS  FllONTENAC. 


position  at  court  was,  from  the  courtier  ])ui 
view,  an  enviable  one.     The  princess,  al'ti 
banishment  had  ended,  more  than  once  iiu- 
incidentally  that  she  had  met  him  in  the  c;,^ir^ 
of  the  queen.     Her  dislike  of  him  became  in  «ua,  f 
and  her  fondness  for  his  wife  cluinged  at  1 
aversion.     She  charges  the  countess  ^vitli  iiiv 
tude.     She  discovered,  or  thought  that  she 
ered,  that  in  her  dispute  with  her  father,  ;!|rwi^ 
certain  dissensions  in  her  own  household,  .Al   j  x^ 
de  Frontenac  had  acted  secretly  in  oppcsit'  ^  ^ 
her  interests  and  wishes.     The  imprudent  ];;»  1^^^ 
honor  received  permission  to  leave  her  servii  jg  j^^^ 
was  a  woful   scene.     "  She  saw  me  get  in  j^j^jigi 
carriage,"  writes  the  princess,  "and  her  <^,y  ^^i] 
was  greater  than  ever.     Her  tears  floAvcd  ^^  -^ 
dantly:  as  for  me,  my  fortitude  was  perfect.  j[^||g 
looked  on  with  composure  while  she  cried,    i^ 
thing  could  disturb  niy  tranquillity,  it  was  the  ^q 
lection  of  the  time  when  she  laughed  whik\ 
crying."     Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier  hriji 
deeply  offended,  and  apparently  with  reason.  ,!• 
countess  and  her  husband  received  an  order 
again  to  appear  in  her  presence ;  but  soon  iudl  ir 
when  the  princess  was  with  the  king  and   haM 
at  a  comedy  in  the  garden  of  the  Louvre,  id  lie 
tenac,  who  had   previously  arrived,  inmiOLjlii^ 
changed  his  position,  and  with  his  usual  an 
took  a  post  so  conspicuous  that  she  could  not 
seeing  him.     ^'  I  confess,"  she  says,  "  I  was 
gry  that  I  could  find  no  pleasure  in  the  plav 
I  said  nothing  to  the  king  and  queen,  fearing 


"liONTENAC. 

e  courtier  pu! 
princess,  aitt 
han  once  imi 
liim  in  the  (, 
lim  became  in 
clxdiigecl  at  1 
intess  ^vith  ii 
rht  that  she  (" 


FRONTENAC  AS  A  SOLDIER. 


11 


oiild  not  take  such  a  view  of  the  matter  as 

ed."^ 

h  the  close  of  her  relations  with  "  La  Grande 
adlSfnoiselle,"  Madame  de  Frontenac  is  lost  to 
^lifeor  a  while.  In  16G9,  a  Venetian  embassy 
i,ixifl|to  France.. to  beg  for  aid  against  the  Turks, 
tiuBpr  more  than  two  years  had  attacked  Candia 
I  owrwhelmin^  force.     The  ambassadors  offered 


'» place  their  own  troops  under  French  command, 
ousehold,  :^I.ja  ihev  asked  Turenne  to  m 


name  a  general  officer 


ly  m  oppo^u  jy^l^^  the  task.     Frontenac  had  the  signal  honor 


imprudent  1; 
ave  her  servii 


,v  me  get 


g  chosen  by  the  first  soldier  of  Europe  for 

st  arduous  and  difficult  position.     He  went 

ingly.     The  result  increased  his  reputation 

lity  and  courage ;  but  Candia  was  doomed, 

chief  fortress  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
,  after  a  protracted  struggle,  which  is  said 

cost  them  a  hundred  and  eighty  thousand 


us 

in'*, 
"  a^nd  her  ci;,j|, 
tears  floAvcd  j^| 
i  was  perfect 
3  she  cried,    i^ 
ity,  it  was  tlieg 
lughed  while 
itpensier  hrd^j 
with  reason,  .r 


e  years  later,  Frontenac  received  the  ap- 

ent    of   Governor  and   Lieutenant-General 

king  in  all  New  France.     "  He  was,"  says 

ved  an  order aiDtpmon,   "a  man  of    excellent   parts,  living 

;  but  soon  ludipn  society,  and  completely  ruined.     He  found 

ving  and   half  to  bear  the  imperious  temper  of  his  wife ; 

the  Louvre,  id^^  was  given  the  government  of  Canada  to 

[•ived,  inmieijli^  him  from  her,  and  afford  him  some  means 

his  usual  ai;  lr|ng." '     Certain  scandalous  songs  of  the  day 

she  could  no;       i 

aVS      "  I  was    *  ■*^<^'''''-^  ^^  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier,  III.  270. 

•^  .'  Y     *?"■**''"  fiineh-e  dii  Comte  de  Frontenac,  par  le  Pere  Olivier  Goyer.     A 

'e  in  the  plavwwpil  French  contingent,  under  another  command,  co-operated  with 

I ueen,  f eariD^'Mr^!^"^  7*;^  ^""*^"^°:. 

IL  7  ^^S^m^oirea  du  Ducde  Saint-Smon,  II.  270  ;  V.  336. 


c  in' 

liiiii" 


''!■■ 


12 


COUNT  AND  COUNTESS  FRONTENAC. 


assign  a  different  motive  for  his  «ippointriy 
Louis  XIV.  was  enamoured  of  Madame  do  W  h 
tespan.  She  had  once  smiled  upon  Fronti  ,g|||  f^ 
and  it  is  said  that  the  jealous  king  gladly  eiiiljijy  ^]^(^ 
the  opportunity  of  removing  from  his  proMg(j  j^^ 
and  from  hers,  a  lover  who  had  forestalled  liiiiinl^g 
Frontenac's  wife  had  no  thought  of  folio >  \^^ 
him  across  the  sea.     A  more  congenial  life  jn\" 


e 


her  at  home.  She  had  long  had  a  friend  of  :\yii^ 
bier  station  than  herself,  Mademoiselle  d'Oiitro:  requ« 
daughter  of  an  obscure  gentleman  of  Poitoi>ty  an 
amiable  and  accomplished  person,  who  IxjOutre 
through  life  her  constant  companion.  The  eiii  |0n 
sive  building  called  the  Arsenal,  forme rljitirtj,  t 
residence  of  Sully,  the  minister  of  Henn 
contained  suites  of  apartments  which  were  gr  ce| 
to  persons  who  had  influence  enough  to  oii 


ir 


'I.,  ii'i 


1  Note  of  M.  Brunei,  in  Correspondance  de  la  Duchessed'OrMv 
(ed.  1869).  ' 

The  following  lines,  among  others,  were  passed  about  secret!} 
the  courtiers :  — 

"  Je  suis  ravi  que  le  roi,  notre  sire, 
Aime  la  Montespan ; 
Moi,  Frontenac,  je  me  crbve  de  rire, 

Sachant  ce  qui  lui  pend ; 
Et  je  dirai,  sans  etre  des  plus  bestes, 
Tu  n'as  que  mon  reste, 

Koi, 
Tu  nV.s  que  mon  reste." 

Mademoiselle  de  Montpensicr  had  mentioned  in  her  memni-l  OAl^y 
years  "before,  that  Frontenac,  in  taking  out  his  handkerchief,  i-|^ ,  ^^^ 
from  his  pocket  a  love-letter  to  Mademoiselle  de  Mortemart,  at't'gj/  «* 
Madame  de  Montespan,  wliich  was  picked  up  by  one  of  tlie  attf^RBP  I 
of  the  princess.     The  king,  on  the  other  hand,  was  at  one  time  \rgAM 
by  the  charms  of  Madame  de  Frontenac,  against  whom,  lio" 
fcspersion  is  cast. 

The  Comte  de  Grignan,  son-in-law   of  Madame  de  Sevigm, 
unsuccessful  competitor  with  Frontenac  for  the  government  of  0 


lONTENAC. 


LES  DIVINES. 


13 


bis  appoiiiti:^e|j|  The  Due  de  Liide,  grand  master 
Madame  de  )ry^  )iad  them  at  his  disposal,  and  gave  one  of 
upon  Froiiti  ,0111  ^q  Madame  de  Frontenac.  Here  she  made 
^  gladly emljijj  |^|jQf](3  ^^y[{[^  i^qj.  friend;  and  here  at  last  she 
^om  his  pi'es>g(j^i,u^t  the  age  of  seventy-iive.  The  annalist 
:orestalled  niiiin^ygimon,  who  knew  the  court  and  all  helcnging 
light  01  i()llo>  i^etter  than  any  other  man  of  his  time,  says 
genial  life  in'  j^.  a  g^e  had  been  beautiful  and  gay,  and  was 
I  a  friend  of  yf^^y^  in  the  best  society,  where  she  was  greatly 
iselle  d'Outrt  request.  Like  her  husband,  she  had  little  prop- 
lan  of  Poltoi>ty  md  abundant  wit.  She  and  Mademoiselle 
5on,  who  h  Outstelaise.  whom  she  took  to  live  with  her,  gave 
[lion.  The  eiie  toie  to  the  best  company  of  Paris  and  the 
[lal,  formerhurlj^  though  they  never  went  thither.  They 
r   of   Henry  eri^^lled  Les  Divines.     In  fact,  they  demanded 


hich  were  gn.c 
enough  to  oie 

Duchesse  d'Orkwn. 


like  goddesses ;  and  it  was  lavished  upon 
11  their  lives." 

moiselle  d'Outrelaise  died  long  before  the 
IS,  who  retained  in  old  age  the  rare  social 


lire 


3e  rire, 
bestes, 


•uut; 

sea  about  secretijitB^hich  to  the  last  made  her  apartments  a 
soi?§of  the  highest  society  of  that  brilliant  epoch, 
watt  in  her  power  to  be  very  useful  to  her  absent 
isb^d,  who  often  needed  her  support,  and  who 
emi^to  have  often  received  it. 
Sl^was  childless.  Her  son,  Fran9ois  Louis,  was 
Ue^some  say  in  battle,  and  others  in  a  duel,  at 

ed  in  her  meraoir^i  9$^y  age.     Her  husbaud  died  nine  years  beforo 

;:il;::;"t^/^5  r^.^^^^  «1^  e^^^tess  left  what  httle  she  had 
by  one  of  tiie  att^  mt  friend  BeHnghen,  the  king's  master  of  the 

was  at  one  timea»yag^ 
linst  wliom,  liowt 

,  *  On  Frontenac  and  his  family,  see  Appendix  A 

ame  de  Sevipne,- 

;  government  of  C        « 


I  It 


CHAPTER  n. 


1672-1675. 

FRONTENAC   AT  QUEBEC. 

ARnivAL.  —  Bnionr   Prospkcts.  —  The   Three   Estates   ..go*  a 
France.  —  Spekcii    op    the    Governor.  —  His    Innovai 
Royal  Displeasure.  —  Signs  of  Storm. — Frontenac  tSil^W 
Priests.  —  His  Attempts   to  civilize   tub  Indians. -iw4-    |>, 
TiON.  —  Complaints  and  Heart-burnings.  * 

ranoe 


,1 


Frontenac  was  fifty-two  years  old  ^vl 
landed  at  Quebec.  If  time  had  done  little  y'^l 
his  many  faults,  it  had  done  nothing  to  weak  i©  ^ 
springs  of  his  unconquerable  vitality.  In  li'ftWfh 
middle  age,  he  was  as  keen,  fiery,  and  pervi^^^^ 
headstrong  as  when  he  quarrelled  with  P" 
taine  in  the  hall  at  St.  Fargeau.  ^®* 

Had  nature  disposed  him  to  melancholy, 
was  much  in  his  position  to  awaken  it.  A  d 
courts  and  camps,  born  and  bred  in  the  focii 
most  gorgeous  civilization,  he  was  banished 
ends  of  the  earth,  among  savage  hordes  and! 
reclaimed  forests,  to  exchange  the  splendors  (|^ 
Germain  and  the  dawning  glories  of  Versailll^^ 
a  stern  gray  rock,  haunted  by  sombre  pl^W 
rugged  merchants  and  traders,  blanketed  In*^ - 
and  wild  bush-rangers.  But  Frontenac  was  ;■  ^ 
of  action.     He  wasted  no  time  in  vain  regret> 


ARRIVAL. 


15 


[I. 


UEBEC. 


t^mself  to  his  work  with  the  clastic  vigor  of 
)utll.  His  first  impressions  had  been  very  favor- 
)le.  When,  as  he  sailed  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  the 
isin  of  Quebec  opened  before  him,  his  imagina- 
m  kindled  with  the  grandeur  of  the  scene.  "  I 
;ve»^"  he  wrote,  "saw  any  thing  more  superb 
lan  ilie  position  of  this  town.  It  could  not  be 
jttei  situated  as  the  future  capital  of    a  great 

npire.    * 

That  Quebec  was  to  become  the  capital  of  a 
Three  Estates  ^^qj^  empire  there  seemed  in  truth  good  reason  to 
imnFRONTKNAc!3liei|0.  The  young  king  and  his  minister  Col- 
E  TUB  iNDiAxs.-jy|.^|j,^(]  Liborcd  in  earnest  to  build  up  a  new 
raQlHl  in  the  Avest.  For  years  past,  ship-loads  of 
^ears  old  wli  nigjpints  had  landed  every  summer  on  the  strand 
1  done  little  ii3n0f).h  the  rock.  All  was  life  and  action,  and 
thing  to  wealvie  fi^  ^vas  full  of  promise.  The  royal  agent 
itality.  In  li  8%if^^'^^^  written  to  his  master :  "  This  part  of  the 
ry  and  perv'^^^ift  monarchy  is  destined  to  a  grand  future. 

,t  I  see  around  me  points  to  it ;  and  the  colo- 
foreign  nations,  so  long  settled  on  the  sea- 
are  tremblino;  with  frio-ht  in  view  of  what 
jkjesty  has  accomplished  here  within  the  last 
ears.     The  measures  we  have  taken  to  con- 
em  within  narrow  limits,  and  the  prior  claim 
e  established  against  them  by  formal  acts 
lession,  do  not  permit  them  to  extend  them- 
except   at   peril   of   having   war   declared 
them  as  usurpers ;  and  this,  in  fact,  is  what 
feem  greatly  to  fear."  ^ 


elled  with  P" 


melancholy.  ^ 

t-     I 

ken  it.     A  \^ 
d  in  the  fociij 
ras  banished '^f 
[^e  hordes  ad 
le  splendors'^ 
3s  of  Versa  ill 
)y  sombre  p 
blanketed  In 
ontenac  was  a 
1  vain  regrets 


1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  2  Nov.y  1672. 

2  Talon  au  Ministre,  2  Nov.,  1671. 


^n''  ,T.^>Um 


'I 


•% 


'rU 


16 


FRONTENAC  AT   QUEBEC. 


HE] 

Frontenac  shared  the  spirit  of  tlie  hour,, 
first   step    was   to   survey  his   governinent,  •    . 
talked  with  traders,  colonists,  and  ollicials;      . 
seigniories,  farms,  fishing-stations,  and  all  t    .  i 
fant  industries  that  Talon  had  galvanized  int « 
examined  the  new  ship  on  the  stocks,  adiiiii      .1 


structure    of   the    new   brewery,  went   to 
Rivers  to  see  the  iron  mines,  and  then, 


ritt« 
opea 


acquired  a  tolerably  exact  idea  of  his  char,  tt 
turned  to  Quebec.  He  was  well  pleased  'vvit: 
he  saw,  but  not  with  the  ways  and  ^^cansoi*  j^ 
dian  travel ;  for  he  thought  it  strangely  1111  ^^  ^k 
ing  that  a  lieutenant-general  of  the  king  f^^iig 
be  forced  to  crouch  on  a  sheet  of  bark,  at  ti^i.  ^ 
torn  of  a  birch  canoe,  scarcely  daring  to  nii^  , 
head  to  the  right  or  left  lest  he  should  disti^^ 


balance  of  the  fragile  vessel. 


ites  j 


At  Quebec  he  convoked  the  council,  Tnadjgjy- 
a  speech,  and  administered  the  oath  of  alle^j^ji 
This  did  not  satisfy  him.     He  resolved  i:nj,> 
Quebec  should  take  the  oath  together.     ItTj^^; 
tie  but  a  pretext.     Like  many  of  his  statioiiliiy. 
tenac  was  not  in  full  sympathy  with  the  ce| 
ing  movement  of  the  time,  which  tended  J 
ancient  rights,  privileges,  and  prescriptioiii| 
the  ponderous  roller  of  the  monarchical  ;»ii( 
tration.     He  looked  back  with  regret  to  n^ 
when  the  three  orders  of  the  state,  clergv.  th#| 
and  commons,  had  a   place  and  a  poweiself,! 
direction  of  national  affairs.     The  three  onifce 
subsisted,  in  form,  if  not  in  substance,  in  j] 

1  Registre  dn  Conseil  Souverain.  S6 


'iei 


THE  THREE  ESTATES. 


o£  the  hour.|^LQ^I^p^j^  Qf  France;  and  Frontenac  conccivcfl 
government. ^fj^j^  ^1"  T-oproflncin^r  fhcm  in  Canada.  Not 
id  otliclals;  ^^y  did  he  cherish  the  tradition  of  faded  liberties, 
as,  and  all  t^^.  j^^  i^^.^.^]  pomp  and  circumstance,  above  all, 
ralvanlzed  HiU^en  he  was  himself  the  central  figure  in  it;  and 
stocks,  admii^^  Aought  of  a  royal  governor  of  Languedoc  or 


ry,  went  to  ritlniy,  presiding  over  the  estates  of  his  province, 
,  and  then,  ^^pg|rg  to  have  lired  him  Avith  emulation, 
ja  of  his  char,  g^  jjj^^l  ^^  difficulty  in  forming  his  order  of  the 
ill  pleased  ^^'^^  ergj^  The  Jesuits  and  the  seminary  priests  sup- 
i  and  means  01  j^l|j^terial  ^von  more  abundant  than  he  wished. 
:  strangely  im  ,r  §^  order  of  the  nobles,  he  found  three  or  four 
L  of  the  king  ff^l^ommes  at  Quebec,  and  these  he  reinforced 
t  of  bark,  f^t  i^^,  j^^ii^^ber  Qf  officers.  The  third  estate  con- 
y  daring  to  ^teclMof  the  merchants  and  citizens ;  and  he 
he  sliould  dii^luiu^  the  members  of  the  council  and  the  magis- 
ites  into  another  distinct  body,  though,  properly 
.e  council,  wadjglralg^  they  belonged  to  the  third  estate,  of 
lie  oath  of  alli.icl||fy  nature  and  prescription  they  were  the 
He  resolved  t^d/ ;  The  Jesuits,  glad  no  doubt  to  lay  him 
together.     It  ||||j|)ine  slight  obligation,  lent  him  their  church 

leremony  that  he  meditated,  and  aided  in 

g  it  for    the    occasion.      Here,   on   the 

,hird  of  October,  1672,  the  three  estates  of 

ere  convoked,  with  as  much  pomp  and 

as   circumstances  would    permit.     Then 

,c,  with  the  ease  of  a  man  of  the  world 

loftiness  of  a  grand  seigneur,  delivered 

and  a  poworsel{|of  the  harangue  he  had  prepared.     He 

The  three  on  te  Aceedingly  well ;   he  is  said  also  to  have 

substance,  in  ^l^e^  as  an  orator ;    certainly  he  was   never 

liSouverain.  ®®  S^  ^^^  ^^"^^  ®^  ^^^  ^^n  eloquence.     His 


Ly  of  liis  statior.. 
[hy  with  the  ce 
(wliichL  tended; 

id  prescriptloiv 
monarchical  ^n 

ith  regret  to  » 
le  state,  clergy 


i 


H 


iir 


ill. 


18 


FRONTENAC  AT  QUEnKC. 


9mi 


8poocli  WHS  nddrossofl  to  a  doublo  audioiicc  hfff 
tliroiii^  that  fillcfl  tlio  cliurcli,  and  the  l<inL!;  m  y^j^^ 
minister  three  thousiind  miles  away.  He  l(i!)ol0ti 
liearers  that  he  had  called  the  assembly,  not  U  nagic 
he  don])ted  their  loyalty,  but  in  order  to  ;Fener 
them  the  delight  of  making  piildlc  protest;it;,xhor 
devotion  to  a  prince,  the  terror  of  whose  irrx)Uoli 
ihle  nrms  was  matched  only  by  the  charms  i  even 
person  and  the  benignity  of  his  rule.  "TlioxteiK 
Scriptures,"  he  said,  *'  command  us  to  obc  lan  d 
sovereign,  and  teach  us  that  no  pretext  or  net  oa 
can  dispense  us  from  this  obedience."  Aninterei 
glowing  eulogy  on  Louis  XIV.,  he  went  on  foirotes 
that  obedience  to  him  was  not  only  a  duty,  tiappj 
inestimable  privilege.  He  dwelt  with  adiii':»e,  i^ 
on  the  recent  victories  in  Tlolland,  and  holil/lirift 
the  hope  that  a  speedy  and  glorious  peaoo  f  our 
leave  his  Majesty  free  to  turn  his  thought^  .  H^ 
colony  which  alreadv  owed  so  much  to  hi<  3lv< 
ing  care.  "  The  true  means,"  pursued  Froii 
"of  gaining  his  favor  and  his  support,  is  for 
imite  with  one  heart  in  laboring  for  the  pr^  pBM^ 
of  Canada."  Then  he  addressed,  in  tumjf®?! 
clergy,  the  nobles,  the  magistrates,  and  tlitpW 
zens.  He  exhorted  the  priests  to  contiiui(P^f 
zeal  their  labors  for  the  conversion  of  the  L:'**®  tl^ 
and  to  make  them  subjects  not  only  of  Cliii  "^  m 
also  of  the  king  ;  in  short,  to  tame  and  i  ^^cfttii 
them,  a  portion  of  their  duties  in  which  he;^^  ^^^ 
gave  them  to  understand  that  they  had  no  i^®*  ^ii 
erto  acquitted  themselves  to  his  satisl^ 
Next,  he    appealed    to    the    nobles,   comii^ 


I  1 


HKC. 


mill 


sim:I':cii  or  fuontenac. 


10 


l)le  aiKlioncc  Ji^  giilliintn-,  and  failed  upon  thcMn  to  be  an 
d  the  kinii;;!!  ittiJiioiis  ill  the  eiiltiire  and  iiuproveniont  of  the 
,vay.  He  1*1  iolmiy  as  tliev  were  valiant  in  its  defence.  Tho 
enildy,  not  I),  naglitrates,  the  nierchants,  and  the  colonists  in 
in  order  to  renwral  wore  each  addressed  in  \\n  appropriate 
hlic  protestiit  5xll»rtatlon.  "I  can  assure  you,  messieurs,"  he 
■  of  whose  in joiMiuded,  ''that  if  you  faithfully  discharge  your 
r  the  charms .  ev«Pal  duties,  each  in  his  station,  his  Majesty  will 
rule.  ''  TIk  5xtend  to  ns  all  the  help  and  all  the  favor  that  we 
id  us  to  olii  an  desire.  It  is  needless,  then,  to  urge  you  to 
)  pretext  or  ixjt  as  I  has'e  counselled,  since  it  is  for  your  own 
lience."  An  nteitet  to  do  so.  As  for  me,  it  only  remains  to 
hewent  on  tii(mteit  ])efore  you  that  I  shall  esteem  myself 
3nly  a  duty,l^i|>py  in  consecrating  all  my  efforts,  and,  if  need 
elt  with  adiir'e>  l$iy  1'^^'  itself,  to  extending  the  empire  of  Jesus 
and  and  helit  Jliriftjb  tlu'oughout  all  this  land,  and  the  supremacy 
orious  peace  f  OW  king  over  all  the  nations  that  dwell  in  it." 
his  thouf''lit<  •  H^ifidiiiinistcred  the  oath,  and  the  assembly  dis- 
much  to  his;olv«Ji.  He  now  applied  himself  to  another  work  : 
pursued  Fror.^atOf  giving  a  municipal  government  to  Quebec, 
support  is  foift^fthe  model  of  some  of  the  cities  of  France. 
(T  for  the  pr'^lii^^  ^^  *^^^  sjmdic,  an  official  supposed  to  rep 
ssed  in  tuviiB^^  ^^^^  intei'csts  of  the  citizens,  he  ordered  the 
'ites  and  tklW^  election  of  three  aldermen,  of  whom  the 
s  to  contiim  ^'^t  should  act  as  mayor.  One  of  the  number 
ion  of  the  li.'^^  S^  ^^^^  ^^  office  every  year,  his  place  being 
onlv  of  Cliii  ^^  fcy  ^  ^^^^^  election  ;  and  the  governor,  as  rep- 
tame  and  r*®^ng  the  king,  reserved  the  right  of  confirma- 
in  which  he ^^  ^^  rejection.  He  then,  in  concert  with  the 
thev  had  noiief^vinhabitants,  proceeded  to  frame  a  body  of 
his  satisl^Ni^^^^^^^  ^^^  ^^^  government  of  a  town  destined, 
lobles    comii^  ^W'o''^^^  ^"^  again  declares,  to  become  the  capi- 


\\: 


s 


■' 


20 


FUUNTKNAC   AT   (iUliltKC. 


a 


td  of  ji   iui<(lil y  (Miipii'r  ;  iiixl   Ik;  fjirllior  <)nl;i 
that  \\\r   people  should    hold    ji   ineeli!i<^  ovcrv 
monllis  to  (lis(!iiss  (pieslioiis  iiivolviu<z;  iho  wdj^'i 
of    the    colony.      The    holdiiess   of    <hes(!   ••i<'!i>,«u:x«^ 
will   seiir('(»ly   Ix^  ji|)|)]'e('iMle(l    jit    the   present  'Ja'^^ 
Th(»    inleiidant,  Talon   declined,  on    pretence  ip^^ 
Hliy:lit  illness,  lo  l)(»   privsiMit  at  the  meolin;::  (»i  *    ,^: 
OHtjiles.      II(»  knew  loo  well  Ihe  lenij)erof  did  „j  v 
whoso  eonsljint    policy  it  wns   lo   destroy  or  |  g+«*^j 
lyzo  oviM'v  institution  or  custom    tlud,  stood  \]\,q\a 
way  of   his  autocracy.     The  despatches   in  \\  K^y 
Frontenac  announced   to  his  nuistors  what  Ik--  v^ 
done   received    in  due     time    their   answei".    jgrJig 
ndnister  Colhei't  wrote :  *' Your  assenddin^^ii   JWn 
inhabitants  to  take  the  oath  of  Hdiility,  and  ,j|g  ^jj 
division  of  them  into  tin  ee  estates,  may  ha \i.||g  |^j 
a  good  effect  for  the  moment;    but  it  is  wd-n^jjw. 
you  to  observe  that  you  are  always  to  foll()VrjQ0 
thti  government  of  Canada,  the  forms  in  use  li)mi|0f 
and  since  our  k'-^^^js  have  long  regarded  it  as  y  ^^ 
for  their  service  not  to  convoke  the  statcs-<:;('ii||||  J^] 
of  the  kingdom,  in  order,  perhaps,  to  abolislijgjj  ^j 
sensibly  this   ancient  usage,  you,  on  your  ideti#r 
should  very  rarely,  or,  to  speak  more  corn  jnt*^  f 
never,  give  a  corporate  form  to  the  inhabitaii:  rj^  . 
Canada.     You  should  even,  as  the  colony  stroiiQgg^  , 
ens,  suppress  gradually  the  oflice  of  the  pyiissii^. 
who  presents  petitions  in  the  name  of  the  inllveft^b( 
tants  ;    for  it  is  well  that  each  should  speak e  dteif 
himself,  and  no  one  for  all."  '  5cidf( 

»  Frontenac  au  Roi,   2  Nov.,  1()72;  Ih'id.,  13  A'by.,  1G73  ;   Ilami 
Comte   le  Frontenac  en  l'Asseud)l(f('  a  Quebec;  Prestations  de  Serment,'^A 
1672  ;  R^jlement  de  Police  fait  par  Monsieur  le  Comte  de  Frontenac;  t^ 
a  Fronte/'-ic,  13  Juin,  1(57.3 


ICC. 


8KJNS   OK  STORM. 


21 


fjirllior  <)i<l:i i«i|Prt\  in  Krlof,  is  tlic  whole  spirit  of  llie  Fn'iicli 
Kvliii^^  ov('r.Qj^:,^l  nile  in  Caimda  ;  n  o;(,v(>ninH'nl,  ns  I  liavc; 
vin<!;  the  w  ^]fi^\^^.y^.  sli(»\\n,  of  cxccllcnl  iiilcntioiis,  l)iit  of 
thost3  n»^':' ^rbitniry  methods.  Kroiitcniic,  (iHcd  with  the  tni- 
Ihc  P»*<'«^''^^ 'litionH  of  the  |)!ist,  iiiid  sincerely  dcsiioiis  of  th(^ 
'•'  P''*'*y'''''\';ood  of  the  cohmy,  rnshly  sot  himself  n«,^Jiinst  the 
»  nieetin<^Miijj.^^ljjj^,  current.  His  ninniei[)al  <i,()vernment, 
mper  of  tlu-l  jj^  yj^  m('i'tin<rs  of  (;iti/ens,  were,  like  his  ihreo 
destroy  or  l  gtates,  nholished  hy  a  word  from  the  court,  which, 
that  stood  ii!,Q|^  ^^^]  ohstinate  as  h(^  wjis,  he  dared  not  dis- 
patches in  v  bey.  Ifjid  they  j)e(5n  allowed  to  suhsist,  there 
;ters  what  li.  j^  jj^  ]i((|(3  (l(,„l)t  tiiat  great  «,^ood  wonld  luive 
HV    answer.    jguJied  (o  (^mada. 

iissend)lin;j;  ol  JVdntenac  lias  been  (tailed  a  more  soMier.  Ilo 
lidelity,  and  .Qg  m  excellent  soldier,  and  more  besiiles.  JIo 
OS,  may  hiivi -ngg'^j^jin  of  vigorous  and  cultivated  mind,  pone- 
hut  it  is  W(l.atj(jg  observation,  and  ample  travel  and  experi- 
vays  to  follo\vj(5£^  ]Iis  ze;d  for  the  colony,  however,  was  often 
)rms  in  use  li)utii|racte(l  by  the  violence  of  his  prejudices,  and 
garded  itns.g^^?ll0  other  influences.  First,  ho  was  a  ruined 
he  statos-goiijj^yiyho  meant  to  mend  his  fortunes ;    and  h's 

at  Canada  should  prosper  was  joined  with 
mination  to  reap  a  goodly  part  of  her  pros- 
for  himself.     Again,  he  could  not  endure 
;    oi)position    maddened    him,    and,    when 
or  thwarted,  he  forgot  every  thing  but  his 
e  of  the  f^VLSsiOB.      Signs  of  storm  quickly  showed   the  ni- 
ne of  the  iiillvei^between  him  and  the  intendant  Talon ;  but 
hould  speak e  diBiger  was  averted  by  the  departure  of  that 
Scialfor  France.     A  cloud  then  rose  in  the  direc- 
lov.,  1G73 ;  Jian'^^^^d  the  clergy. 
ations  de  Serment,%m^Q^Yiev  thinpj  displeascs  me,"  writes  Fronte- 

mte  de  Fiontemc;'.^^^  ox 


,ps,  to  abolisliiali 
.1,  on  your  } 

more  convj 
Ihe  inhabitiin  ri- 

colony  stroll. 


22 


FRONTENAC   AT  QUEBEC. 


mi 


I 


my 


i|:';ii 


it' 


"^ 


/ 


nac,  "  and  this  is  the  complete  dependence  ofaaUb 
grand  vicar  and  the  seminary  priests  on  the  Je  o  %e 
for  they  never  do  the  least  thing  without  h$ki] 
order:  so  that  they  {the  Jesuits)  are  mastiiknolli( 
spiritual  matters,  which,  as  you  know,  is  a  povould 
ful  lever  for  moving  every  thing  else."^  Aiieam  J 
complains  that  they  have  spies  in  town  and  itiMi 
try,  that  they  abuse  the  confessional,  interiiiiin©  fr^ 
in  families,  set  husbands  against  wives,  and  pa>he  p( 
against  children,  and  all,  as  they  say,  for  the  grtuthoi 
glory  of  God.  "  I  call  to  mind  e^  .ry  day,  \b  the 
seigneur,  what  you  did  me  the  honor  to  say  ')rai|p 
when  I  took  leave  of  you,  and  every  duy:li®fil! 
satisfied  more  and  more  of  the  great  impor^aiy  tc 
to  the  king's  service  of  opposing  the  sligliuiMH^  t 
the  attempts  which  are  daily  made  again  Mfe 
authority."  He  goes  on  to  denounce  a  Citti6JJ>i 
sermon,  preached  by  a  Jesuit,  to  the  great  >  loiai n 
of  loyal  subjects,  wherein  the  father  declare «  ^ 
the  king  had  exceeded  his  powers  in  liceiisii.-o  w^ 
trade  in  brandy  when  the  bishop  had  decide 'C<5*#i^ 
be  a  sin,  together  with  other  remarks  of  a  sc'^^  ^^  ' 
nature.  "  I  was  tempted  several  times,"  |  ^^S^^ 
Frontenac,  "  to  leave  the  church  with  my  g^^J* 
and  interrupt  the  sermon ;  but  I  contented^^Pl 
self  with  telling  the  grand  vicar  and  tlie  sii[^P^ 
of  the  Jesuits,  after  it  was  over,  that  I  ^va^^  W^' 
much  surprised  at  what  I  had  heard,  and  deiiL 
justice  at  their  hands.  They  greatly  blame! 
preacher,  and  disavowed  him,  attributing  li: 
guage,  after  their  custom,  to  an  excess  of  zea 

1  Frontenac  au  Mimstre,  2  Nov.,  1672. 


2BEC. 


FRONTENAC  AND  THE  PRIESTS. 


23 


dependence  ofiM)|||ig  many  apologies,  with  which  I  pretended 
iests  on  the  Jeo  fe©  satisfied  ;  though  I  told  them,  nevertheless, 
ling  without  hftl  their  excuses  would  not  pass  current  with  me 
ts)  are  masti  tnoiher  time,  and,  if  the  thing  happened  again,  I 

know,  is  a  pufould  put  the  preacher  in  a  place  where  he  would 
g  else.'**  Aiieam  how  to  speak.  Since  then  they  have  been  a 
in  town  and  ittfe  more  careful,  though  not  enough  to  prevent 
isional,  interiiiine'lrom  always  seeing  their  intention  to  persuade 

wives,  and  pa. he  people  that,  even  in  secular  matters,  their 
say,  for  the  gnutbority  ought  to  be  respected  above  any  other. 
1  e^  .ry  day,  \s  ih$re  are  many  persons  here  who  have  no  more 
honor  to  say  ')ridlis  than  they  need,  and  who  are  attached  to 
id  every  daylieill  by  ties  of  interest  or  otherwise,  it  is  neces- 
»  great  impoill^  to  have  an  eye  to  these  matters  in  this  comitry 


ig  the  sligliu^Oif0\ than  anywhere  else."  * 
made  again  ^^  churchmen,  on  their  part,  were  not  idle, 
enounce  a  efhepishop,  who  was  then  in  France,  contrived  by 
0  the  great  scioiai^ means  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  contents 
ather  declan  >f  ^  private  despatches  sent  by  Colbert  in  reply 
ers  in  iicensiiiP  tite  letters  of  Frontenac.  He  wrote  to  another 
p  had  decide!] '<5CJ|liastic  to  communicate  what  he  had  learned, 

same  time  enjoining  great  caution ;  "  since, 
it  is  well  to  acquire  all  necessary  information, 
act  upon  it,  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance 
p  secret  our  possession  of  such  knowledge."  ^ 
king  and  the  minister,  in  their  instructions 
ntenac,  had  dwelt  with  great  emphasis  on 


narks  of  a  sed*" 
val  times,"  p:^ 
ch  with  my  i.' 
t  I  contente(i|. 
r  and  the  sui-^ 
f^r,  that  I  ^va^*^ 
ard,  and  dem;  ,  ^ 

I  ill!  ^.^^nttermc  au  Muu'stre,  13  Nov.,  1G73. 

greatly  blaill-     i  ^/  ^ ^  1674.     ^he  letter  is  a  complete  summary  of  the  con- 

ittributing  ll-*f^M^"'^^^^'^  ^^^^"^  desratcK  to   Frontenac.     Then   follows  the 
excess  of  Zea^*^"  to  secrecy,  "estant  do  tres-gnmde  consoquc-nce  que  Ton  ne 


Tov.,  1672. 


jiwi 


8  que  1  on  aye  rieii  appris  do  tout  cola,  sur  quoi  no'anmoins  il  est  bon 
agisse  et  que  Ton  me  doiine  *ous  les  advis  qui  serout  n^cessairea." 


I:;i 


I:. 


!    .1 


ilf^ 


'^IWW' 


24 


FRONTENAC  AT  QUEBEC. 


7»-m 


the  expediency  of  civilizing  the  Indians,  tea 
them  the  French  language,  and  amalgamating  *'*'T 


ioe& 


with  the  colonists.     Frontenac,  ignorant  as 


3rpet 


Indian  nature  and  unacquainted  with  the  di", 

...    'ins 
ties  of  the  case,  entered  into  these  views  with.'   , 

heartiness.    He  exercised  from  the  first  an  qx,      ., 

rPI*  III 

dinary  influence  over  all  the  Indians  witliv 
he  came  in  contact;  and  he  persuaded  the  . 
savage  and  refractory  of  them,  the  Iroquo 
place  eight  of  their  children  in  his  hands, 
of  these  were  girls  and  four  were  boys.     He'    "* 
two  of  the  boys  into  his  own  household,  of  v   ^^ 
they  must  have  proved  most  objectionable  inn 
and  he  supported  the  other  two,  who  were  yor 
out  of  his  own  slender  resources,  placed  tin 
respectable  French  families,  and  required  the 
go  daily  to  school.     The  girls  were  given  t^ 
charge  of   the  Ursulines.     Frontenac  contii 
urged  the  Jesuits  to  co-operate  with  him  ii 
work  of  civilization,  but  the  results  of  his  m. 
disappointed  and  exasperated  him.     He  com 
that  in  the  village  of  the  Hurons,  near  Q 
and  under  the  control  of  the  Jesuits,  the  I: 
language  was  scarcely  known.     In  fact,  the  iV 
contented  themselves  with  teaching  their  coii 
the  doctrines  and  rites  of  the  Roman  Church. 
retaining  the  food,  dress,  and  habits  of  theiri| 
nal  barbarism. 

In  defence  of  the  missionaries,  it  should  1> 
that,  when  brought  in  contact  with  the  FreLi   1^ 
Indians  usually  caught   the  vices  of    civili 
without  its  virtues  ;  but  Frontenac  made  no 


JEBEC. 


7»-78J 


COMPLAINTS  OF  FRONTENAC. 


25 


1  ,.     icefik     "The  Jesuits,    he  writes,  "  will  not  civilize 

,      ^  le  liiaians,  because  they  wish  to  keep  them  m 

't^  .,1    ,,'  'jrpetual  wardship.     They  think  more  of  beaver 
eo.  witn  tnc  dii'.       ,,  .        ,         i    ii    •        •    • 

.,,  :ms  than  of  souls,  and   their  missions  are  pure 
ese  viewH  with     ,     •     »      *  ^  ^i  ^-       i  ^i.       • 

.]     n    ^.  ockeries.       At  the  same  time  he  assures  the  min- 

T    T      "     .,/ ter  that,  when  he  is  obli^jred  to  correct  them,  he 
Indians  with  v  -^i    .i        ^        ^  ^i  t         -x       r 

1    1  ^1    )e8  80  with  the  utmost  i»:entleness.     in  spite  of 
persuaded  the  .    ^  u  i.    i     i  tr  i       i      -^      -^  i 

^     AT.     T.       ^^s  somewhat  doubtiul  urbanity,  it  seems  clear 

',.     ,       ,^   lat  a  storm  was  brewing ;  and  it  was  fortunate  for 

o  h     '      TT  '®  P®^^  ^^  ^^^^  Canadian  Church  that  the  atten- 

/  '    ,-^  *      .  3n  otf  the  truculent  governor  w^as  drawn  to  other 
household,  of  >^^,^^_ 

jectionable  ini. 

,  who  were  joi 

ces,  placed  tin 

d  required  the 

were  given  t 

)ntenac  contir 

te  with  him  ii. 

suits  of  his  111. 

dm.     He  coni[l 

rons,  near  Qii^ 

Jesuits,  the  h 

In  fact,  the  k'i 

3hing  their  con 

Oman  Church. 

labits  of  their 


V 


s,  it  should  bt 
dth  the  FreiiCj 
ices  of  civili 
3nac  made  noi 


iili 


\l 


in 


i' 


CHAPTER  m. 


1673-1675. 


FRONTENAC  AND  PERROT. 


lerg 

sGi 
eti 
tion 
Lnad 
3  wi 
d,fj 
ve  i 

La  Sallb.  —  Fort   Frontenac.  —  Perrot.  —  His   Specuix 

His  Tyranny.  —  The  Bush-rangers.  —  Perrot  m  O^ 
Becomes  alarmed.  —  Dilemma  of  Frontenac. —  Mkdi  Jl|1  in 
Fenelon.  —  Perrot  in  Prison.  —  Excitement  of  tm^^—. 
TiANS.  —  Indignation  of  Fenelon.  —  Passion  of  Fho; 
Perrot  on  Trial.  —  Strange  Scenes.  —  Appeal  to  Tiitj 
Answers  of  Louis  XIV.  and  Colbert.  —  Fenelon  rebk 

Not  long  before  Frontenac's  arrival,  Co 
his   predecessor,  went   to  Lake  Ontario  \ 
armed  force,  in  order  to  impose  respect 
Iroquois,  who  had  of  late  become  insolent, 
means  of  keeping  them  in  check,  and  at  tl      ' 
time  controlling  the  fur  trade  of  the  uppi    ' 
try,  he  had  recommended,  like  Talon  bofo       * 
the  building  of  a  fort  near  the  outlet  of  tl 
Frontenac  at  once  saw  the  advantages  oC 


ile  ill 

jv  in ; 

ban 


measure,  and  his  desire  to  execute  it  wa^ 
lated  by  the  reflection  that  the  proposed  foi^*^ 


ire  m 


ue 


.jr^ 


be  made  not  only  a  safeguard  to  the  col 
also  a  source  of  profit  to  himself. 

At  Quebec,  there  was  a  grave,  ^houglitfjLJ^ 
contained  young    man,  who  soon  found  '• 
into  Frontenac's  confidence.     There  was 
them  the  sympathetic  attraction  of  two  E 


;^i 


-^1 


%] 


FORT  FRONTENAC. 


27 


in. 


PERROT. 

OT.  —  His   Specci 


lergfetic  spirits ;  and  tlioiigli  Cavelier  de  la  Salle 
id  neither  the  irritable  vanity  of  the  count,  nor 
s  Gallic  vivacity  of  passion,  he  had  in  full  meas- 
e  the  same  unconquerable  pride  and  hardy  reso- 
tion.  There  were  but  two  or  three  men  in 
mada  who  knew  the  western  wilderness  so  well. 
3  was  full  of  schemes  of  ambition  and  of  gain  ; 
d,  from  this  moment,  he  and  Frontenac  seem  to 
,ve  formed  an  alliance,  which  ended  only  with 
_  p,  6  governor's  recall. 

riioNTENAc—MKi)!  In  tilling  the  story  of  La  Salle,  I  have  described 
xciTEMENT  op^  Til  g  gj^^ution  of  tlic  ucw  plan  :  the  muster  of  the 
I  — Appeal  TO  rii nadians,  at  the  Call  of  Froutcnac  ;  the  consterna- 
iT.  — Fenelonkei;:,jj  qI  those  of  the  merchants  whom  he  and  La 

Ue JliB<d  not  taken  into  their  counsels,  and  who 
e  movement  the  preparation  for  a  gigan- 
ading  monopoly ;  the  intrigues  set  on  foot 
e  enterprise ;  the  advance  up  the  St.  Law- 
^     1         A    i  i*'*'^^^^^^  assembly  of  L'oquois  at  the  destined 
,       *      )t;^e  ascendency  exercised  over  them  by  the 

e  of  the  i|PP  ,7^yjp^r ;  the  building  of  Fort  Frontenac  on  the 
ke  Talon  be' 

:he  outlet  of 

advantages  ol^^^ 

execute  it  w;b^g 

tie  proposed  i^"'3^ 

Td  to  the  col 

ISelf.  y 

Trave,  thought;^- 


lc's  arrival,  Co 
ike  Ontario  u 
ipose  respect 
3Come  insolent, 


I  where  Kingston  now  stands,  and  its  final 
into  the  hands  of  La  Salle,  on  condition, 
n  be  no  doubt,  of  sharing  the  expected 
ith  his  patron.' 

e  yvay  to  the  lake,  Frontenac  stopped  for 

e  at  Montreal,  where  he  had  full  opportu- 

ecome  acquainted  with  a  state  of  things 

his  altcntion  had  already  been  directed. 

;i»  jjHRe  of  things  was  as  follows  :  — 

•     There  was  i|jrj^  ^j^^  intendanfc.  Talon,  came  for  the  second 

ction  of  two  t 

1  lUscovery  of  the  Great  West,  chap.  vi. 


Qe;^ 


)  soon 


found 


a 


H 


5       ri 

I 


'li 


!■■,  ■!■ 


28 


FRONTENAC  AND  PERROT. 


8.1 


time  to  Canada,  in  1G69,  an  officer  named  P^:^- 


"who  had  married  his  niece,  came  with  him.   p. 
anxious  to  turn  to  account  the  influence  of  lii.N 


iniLiv 


relative,  looked  about  him  for  some  post  of  \fL 
and  profit,  and  quickly  discovered  that  the  ,i!i/.gg(; 
ment  of  Montreal  was  vacant.  The  prie.sisa  ctq^ 
Sulpice,  feudal  owners  of  the  place,  had  the .  coal 
of  a25pointing  their  own  governor.  Talon  aii'j'he 
them  to  choose  Perrot,  who  thereupon  rccQgui 
the  desired  commission,  which,  however,  uii^^nj] 
vocal '6  at  the  will  of  those  who  had  gram,j|  f^^ 
The  new  governor,  therefore,  begged  another  |  cqhj 
mission  from  the  king,  and  after  a  little  tkl;  ^  ggfi 
obtained  it.  Thus  he  became,  in  some  nietty  <f3 
independent  of  the  priests,  who,  if  they  wi^L  the  ;< 
rid  themselves  of  him,  must  first  gain  the  icncmit 
consent.  .  the 

Perrot,  as  he  had  doubtless  foreseen,  found  em  wi 
self  in  an  excellent  position  for  making  inrit  th< 
The  tribes  of  the  upper  lakes,  and  all  the  iitlowec 
boring  regions,  brought  down  their  furs  i^t  lite 
summer  to  the  annual  fair  at  Montreal.  PU  shoiii 
took  his  measures  accordingly.  On  the  i  th^g 
which  still  bears  his  name,  lying  above  l'Fi!CM|1 
real  and  directly  in  the  route  of  the  deseeiiB  \^ 
savages,  he  built  a  storehouse,  and  placed  ;  hoi0 
charge  of  a  retired  lieutenant  named  Brucv.jpO^ 
stopped  the  Indians  on  their  way,  and  carriefiQtal^ 
an  active  trade  with  them,  to  the  great  prottlani 
himself  and  his  associate,  and  the  great  loss  ofll  t$i^ 
merchants  in  the  settlements  below.  This  waifede, '; 
all.     Perrot  connived  at  the  desertion  of  liisi 


3RR0T. 


TYKANNY   OF  PERROT. 


29 


ficer  named  P<;^|^  \vho  escaped  to  the  woods,  beeanie  cou- 
)  with  him.  1'^^^;:^^  ^^is,  or  bush-rangers,  traded  with  the 
ifluence  of  his^jgjjg  jj^  their  villages,  and  shared  their  gains 
some  post  of  ^y^  their  commander.  Many  others,  too,  of  these 
ed  that  the  gi-egt, rovers,  outlawed  by  royal  edicts,  found  in 
The  prie.stsi3g^y(3j.nor  of  Montreal  a  protector,  under  sinii- 
3lace,  had  tli,- .  coaditions. 

lor.  Talon  a  The  journey  from  Quebec  to  Montreal  often 
thereupon  roioguxned  a  fortnight.  Perrot  thought  himself 
,  however,  ui^uaUy  independent;  and  relying  on  his  commis- 
ho  had  grant  ,n  frpm  the  king,  the  protection  of  Talon,  and 
;gged  another,  ooimection  with  other  persons  of  influence,  he 
3r  a  little  dil  t  safe  in  his  position,  and  began  to  play  the 
in  some  mtHy  fyrant.  The  judge  of  Montreal,  and  several 
3,  if  they  vi'iA  the  chief  inhabitants,  came  to  offer  a  humble 
rst  gain  the  laionitrance  against  disorders  committed  by  some 

the  ruffians  in  his  interest.  Perrot  received 
reseen,  found  em  with  a  storm  of  vituperation,  and  presently 
)r  making  imat  the  judge  to  prison.  This  proceeding  was 
and  all  the  ii  lowed  by  a,  series  of  others,  closely  akin  to  it,  so 
their  furs  i»t  t|te  piiosts  of  St.  Sulpico,  who  received  their 
Montreal.    PU  shure  of  official  abuse,  began  to  repent  bitterly 

On  the  i  th#(|overnor  they  had  chosen.  ^' 

ring  above  .Wrcaftenac  had  received  stringent  orders  from 
of  the  desceiB  ^s^^  to  arrest  all  the  bush-rangers,  or  coureurs 
and  placed  ho^;  but,  since  he  had  scarcely  a  soldier  at  his 
amed  Brucv.jpO^,  except  his  own  body-guard,  the  order  was 
y,  and  carricfictall  to  execute.  As,  however,  most  of  these 
he  great  prottlai^  were  in  the  service  of  his  rival,  Perrot,  his 
great  loss  oi»I  ^capture  them  rose  high  against  every  ob- 
w.  This  Ava  icle*^  He  had,  moreover,  a  plan  of  his  own  in 
ertion  of  \\i>  ?ard|  to  them,  and  had  already  petitioned  the 


30 


FRONTENAC  AND  TERROT. 


''  P 


m 


aj 


minister  for  a  galley,  to  the  benches  of  wli^^J 
captive  bnsh-ran(!:crs  were  to  he  chained  ;is^^!P 
thus  supplying  the  representative  of  th(»  kii  «-- 
a  means  of  transportation  helitting  his  djc^rn  . 
at  the  same  time  giving  wholesome  warnin^r  ,  , 
the  infraction  of  royal  edicts.'  Accordin .  ^ 
sent-  orders  to  the  iudo-e,  at  Montreal,  t.  „. 
every  coitreiir  cle  hols  on  whom  he  could  lav.^]  ^^ 
The  judge,  hearing  that  two  of  the  niost^  f^^ 
ous  were  lodged  in  the  house  of  a  lieutenant gj,  i^ 
Carion,  sent  a  constable  to  arrest  them ;  .j^u^ 


^8,    ] 


upon  Carion  threatened  and  maltreated  tin 
of  justice,  and  helped  the  men  to  escape,  nssy  < 
took  the  part  of  his  lieutenant,  and  told  tlifour 
that  he  would  put  him  in  prison,  in  spite  o:  halb 
tenac,  if  he  ever  darod  to  attempt  such  ai,  chd 
again.^  i  ait 

When  Frontenac  heard  what  had  happer  leav 
ire  was  doubly  kindled.     On  the  one  handler  i 
had  violated  the  authority  lodged  by  the  mil^ 
the    person   of   his    representative ;    and,  ew^ 
other,  the  mutinous  olhcial  was  a  rival  iiiyoor 
who  had  made  great  and  illicit  profits,  ^vlneig 
superior  had,  thus  far,  made  none.     As  ag^riij 
and  as  a  man,  Frontenac  was  deeply  move  ta  ] 
helpless  os  he  w^as,  he  could  do  no  more  \\M 
three  of  his  guardsmen,  under  a  lieutenaiiifty  ii 
Bizard,  with  orders  to   arrest  Carion  ancpasi 
him  to  Quebec.  ft,  M 

The  commission  was  delicate.     The  ar<^e 

*  Frontenac  an  Ministre,  2  Nov.,  K^^'i.  * 

^  M^moire  des  Motifs  qui  ont  oblige  M.  le  Comte  de  Fm' B  M&, 
arreter  le  Sieur  Perrot. 


"  f-- 


?ERI10T. 


rERUOT  ALARMED. 


31 


cnchcs  of  \\\\  b^ade  in  the  doniiiiions  of  Porrot,  who  had 
)e  cliaincd  as  g  ^^Ij^j^^  ^^^  prevent  it,  and  the  audacity  to  use 
Live  of  the  In'h  gm,  JJJzard  acted  accord  in  ;^dy.  He  went  to 
tting  his  dinnii|j,,l»g  ],()^,^e,  and  took  him  prisoner;  tlien  pro- 
;ome  warnin;i  ^^^  to  tlic  house  of  the  merchant  Le  Ber, 
s.'  Accordiii.^ey^  jj(3  left  a  letter,  in  which  Frontenac,  as  ^-as 
,t  Montreal,  1 3  ^ui^ge  on  such  occasions,  gave  notice  to  the 
m  he  could  lay. nj  governor  of  tlie  arrest  he  had  ordered.  It 
o  of  the  nuh\  3  the  object  of  Bizard  to  escape  with  his  pris- 
of  alieutenaiUgi.  l)0fore  Perrot  could  receive  tlie  letter  ;  but, 
arrest  them ;  .anwhile,  the  wife  of  Carion  ran  to  liim  with  the 
maltreated  tlr  y^^f  And  the  governor  suddenly  arrived,  in  a 
en  to  escape,  nsfy'ff  I'nge,  followed  by  a  sergeant  and  three 
nt,  and  told  tlfoBf  soldiers.  The  sergeant  held  the  point  of 
ison,  in  spite  <  haBlBrd  against  the  breast  of  Bizard,  while  Per- 
ttempt  such  ;i ,  cWking  with  passion,  demanded,  "  How  dare 
1  afiest  an  officer  in  my  government  without 
at  had  happi  lealb  ?  "  The  lieutenant  replied  that  he  acted 
the  one  haulier  (irders  of  the  governor-general,  and  gave 
odf^'cd  by  tlir  mtttEiac's  letter  to  Perrot,  who  immediately 
itative  •  and.  ewli  into  his  face,  exclaiming  :  "  Take  it  back 
was  a  rival  iijrcwir  master,  and  tell  him  to  teach  you  your 
licit  profits,  vineBbetter  another  time.     Meanwhile  you  aro 

er."  Bizard  protested  in  vain.  lie  was 
il,  Avhither  he  was  followed  a  few"  days 
Le  Ber,  who  had  mortallv  offended  Per- 
ning  an  attestation  of  the  scene  he  had 
.  As  he  was  the  chief  merchant  of  the 
arrest  produced  a  great  sensation,  while 


IS 


none.     As  a  g' p: 
deeply  movt  ta 
do  no  more  tbr 
er  a  lieutenaitby 

est  Carion  ani 
!e 


icate.     The  ari«^'8^i>resently  took  to  her  bed  with  a  nervous 


tr. 


M.  le  Comte 


de  Frw!-»  Plot's  anger  cooled,  he  became  somewhat 


32 


TRONTEXAC  AND  PERROT. 


?M 


I     i! 


1,1 1' , 


\h 


!";'■ 


'ill:! 


'■'fi: 


alarmed.  lie  luul  resisted  the  royal  aiitlioii  as  tl 
insulted  its  representative.  The  coiiscij.e  « 
might  be  serious ;  yet  he  could  not  bring  i  alou 
to  retrace  his  steps.  lie  merely  released  l)ung 
and  sullenly  permitted  him  to  depart,  willi aides 
to  the  governor-general,  more  impertineiig  th( 
apologetic'  ms  i 

Frontenac,  as  his  enemies  declare,  \\[\<  'ontc 
tomed,  when  enraged,  to  foam  at  the  mouth. me  < 
haps  he  did  so  when  he  learned  the  bclia  d  he 
Perrot.  If  he  had  had  at  command  a  few  gjng 
nies  of  soldiers,  there  can  be  little  douljt  8  dai 
would  have  gone  at  once  to  Montreal,  soi,  ^°** 
offender,  and  brought  him  back  in  irons;  itjr  n 
body-guard  of  twenty  men  was  not  equal  I  ^< 
an  enterprise.  Nor  would  a  muster  of  tin*"®'* 
have  served  his  purpose  ;  for  the  settlei>  "*® 
Quebec  were  chiefly  peaceful  peasants,  ^\\.^  ^^ 
denizens  of  Montreal  w^ere  disbanded  soklii^S"* ' 
traders,  and  forest  adventurers,  the  best  fig[^^^» 
Canada.  They  were  nearly  all  in  the  iiit"^®" 
Perrot,  who,  if  attacked,  had  the  temper  ^^  * 
as  the  ability  to  make  a  passionate  re?®**^ 
Thus  civil  war  would  have  ensued,  and  tlir^^ 
of  the  king  would  have  fallen  on  both  partit^^"®^ 
the  other  hand,  if  Perrot  were  left  unpmil>l^  ^ 
coureurs  de  hois,  of  whom  he  was  the  ''  **® 
would  set  no  bounds  to  their  audacity,  aii' 
tenac,  who  had  been  ordered  to  suppre- 
would  be  condemned  as  negligent  or  incapa       - 

A.mong  the  priests  of  St.  Sulpice  at  M  ^  ^ 

^  M€moire  des  Motifs,  etc. 


of. 
nas 


ijii  liiiiii 


L'EHROT. 


?M 


ABUfc  FjfcNELON. 


88 


J  royal  autli()ii!|i?l^  Al)l)e  Salit^niac  do  Fenelon,  half-brother  of 

The    consoqik  oelohnited   author  of    TCVmaquc.     He  was  a 

hi  not  briiiir 'IwOUB  missionary,  enthusiastic  and  impulsive,  still 

rely  released  i)ung,  and  more  ardent  than  discreet.     One  of  his 

depart,  wltlmicleif  had  been  the  companion  of  Frontenac  dur- 

re   impertinent  the  Candian  ^^ar,  and  hence  the   count's  rek- 

)n8  with  the  missionary  had  been  very  friendly. 

declare,  ^vil<  'ontenac  now  wrote  to  Perrot,  directing  him  to 

at  the  moutknie  to  Quebec  and  give  account  of  his  conduct; 
-necl  the  belia  <i  he  coupled  this  letter  with  another  to  Fenelon, 
mmand  a  few  %^''^  ^i^^i  to  represent  to  the  ofTending  governor 
,  little  doubt  8  danger  of  his  position,  and  advise  him  to  seek 
I  Montreal  se.  interview  with  his  superior,  by  which  the  diffi- 
ack  in  irons-  Ity might  be  amicably  adjusted.  Perrot,  dread- 
ras  not  eqiuil  5  ^'^  displeasure  of  the  king,  soothed  by  the 

muster  of  tli'  *^®^^  ^^"^  ^^  Frontenac's  letter,  and   moved 

the  settler-  the  assurances  of  the  enthusiastic  abbe,  who 

il  TDcasants  \\\ "  deKghted  to  play  the  part  of  peace-maker,  at 

isbanded  soldi^*^  ?^^^^^'^^^  ^^  follow  his  counseh     It  was  mid- 

rs  the  best  li  ^ter.     Perrot   and    Fenelon  set   out   together, 

all  in  the  in  Iked -on  snow-shoes  a  hundred  and  eighty  miles 
1  the  temper  ^^  ^®  frozen  St.  Lawrence,  and  made  their 
passionate    ix  >««4ce  before  the  offended  count. 

nsued  and  tli^^^*^^^^''^^?  ^^^^^^  ^^"^  ^^  \\\^^^  doubt,  had  never 
on  bo'th  partii^^*^  ^^^^  Perrot,  once  in  his  power,  should  re- 

e  left  unpuiiisl"^  ^fP^^'^^^^'"^^  ^^  ^^^  governor  ;  but  that,  beyond 
he  was  the  *'  l^^^^^^t  harm  to  him,  there  is  not  the  least 

ir  audacity,  aiu^"  1?^^^^^'  however,  was  as  choleric  and  stub- 

ed  '  to  supprev^  «i|he  count  himself  ;  and  his  natural  disposi- 


icrent  or  incapa^  ™f  "^^  ^^^^  improved  by  several  years  of 


kubice  at  Jlty  Wtocracy  at  Montreal.     Their  interview  was 
jf,  li|it  stormy.     When  it  ended,  Perrot  was  a 

iifsy  etc.  1*  8 


34 


FRONTKNAC  AND   I'EHUOr. 


ill: 


y 


i!)  ! 


nil 


prisonor  in  tlio  cliMtenn,  villi  ^i^nnrfls  plicci 
him  ))V  (Imv  niid  iiiji:!!!.  Fiontcnac,  inndc  cli 
one  Tiii  N()ii<];noro,  i\  vvi'woi]  ollicer,  wlioni  i|< 
that  lie  eoiild  trust,  jind  sent  liini  to  U 
to    oonnnand     in     place     ol'     its    captivo 


OOtt 

en  b 


nor.     With  liini  he  sent  also  a  judge  of  lu 


item 
!it  oj 


selection.     La  Nougui^re  set  himself   to  hi. 
with  vigor.     Perrot's  agent  or  partner,  Ihiii  , 
seized,  tried,  and   imprisoned;  and  an  activ 
was  l)ef]cun  lor  Ins  voin'nfn^  ae  hois.     Amoiin    , 
the  two  who  had  heen  the  occasion  of  tliti      * 
were  captured  and  sent  to  Quehec,  where  '    ♦* 
them  was  solemnly  hanged  heforc  the  ^vill      .* 
Perrot's  prison;  with  the  view,  no  ^^^'^'^  ,-1-^ , 
ducing   a  chastening  effect  on   the   mind  •     t^ 
prisoner.     The  execution  was  fully  autlioi    i^^ 
royal  edict  having  ordained  that  biish-raagi 
an  offence  punishable  with  death.'     As  tliu  i.^  : 
of  these  proceedings,  Frontenac  report cir  i^j^ 
minister  that  only  live  coiireiirs  de  hois  n   x  ^ 
at  large  ;  all  the  rest  having  returned  to  ^^^'j^Q^n 
ments  and  made  their  submission,  so  tlititj^jy^ 
hanging  was  needless.  "q^q^ 

Thus  the  central  power  was  vindicnte|^|||  || 
Montreal  brought  down  from  her  attitude  hj  j^* 
tial  independence.  Other  results  also  foil  Q|.jyi 
we  may  believe  the  enemies  of  Frontenac.  ^j^^^fc 
clare  that,  by  means  of  the  new  coiiiiiit^n 
and  other  persons  m  his  interest,  the  p^ral. 
general  possessed  himself  of  a  great  part  Uig 
trade  from  which  he  had  ejected  Perrot.  ac 


i  JEdits  et  Ordonnances^  I.  73. 


comn^ 


EUnOT. 


KXriTKMKNT  AT  «T.  SULriCE. 


35 


jruanls  1|^'>'''",^^^,^.,  Jc  60/.S,  wlioiii  l»o  luingvd  when  break- 
^'^^''^'";''''""^'.  kWB  for  Ills  rival,  found  complete  impunity 
fr:^^'^';^''^  >nbrc.ikinK  laws  lor  h^ 

'^   """      .     Sfeanvliilc.  Hkmo  was  a  (loe])    tliou^rh  subduod 
^*'    7'^^'7   'itemeni  anion-  \hr^  priests  of  St.  Sulpice.     The 
a  .iud«,re  ol  L  ^  ^^  naming  llieir  own  governor,  wliieh  they 
himsell   t<)  lii^^jj^  ^^  seigniors  of  Montreal,  had  been  violated 
'  P»^'^"^'^''  '*'.'"  the  action  of  Frontenae  in  placing  La  Nouguere 
and  an  ^^ctiv^^^^^^^j^^^  without  consulting  them.     Perrot  was 
wis.     ^^^^l- ad  governor ;  but  it  was  they  who  had  chosen 
casionof  ^1>* '^^  ^nl  the  recollection  of  his  misdeeds  did  not 
Quebec,  where  jj^^jj^  tl,^.„j  (^  .^  successor  arbitrarily  imposed 
)eforc  the  wii,^  ^^      j^^^j^   ^j^^,^  ^^^^^1    ^j^^,   colonists,   their 
i\w,  no  ^^«ul)t.  j^^  ^gj.^  intense'/  jealous  of  Quebec;  and,  in 
on   the   muid  '^  Mignation    against   Frontenae,    they  more 
IS  fully  autlini^  jjjj^  forgave   Perrot.     None  among  them  all 
hat  bush-raiv:  ^  wigry  as  the  Ah])6,  Fenelon.     He   believed 
eath.'     As  ^''- he  had  been  used  to  lure  Perrot  into  a  trap; 
nac  i'<?pc)rton    jjjg.  pj^j.|.  attachment  to  the   governor-general 
iirs  (le  hoh  i-    timi^d   into  wrath.     High  words  had  passed 
eturned  to  !li;^g^;;  ^Ijpj^j.    ^nd,  when  Fenelon   returned   to 
ssion,  so  ^h;it;jtr0|J[^  he  vented  his  feelings  in  a  sermon  plainly 
Qed  |it  Frontenae'     So  sharp  and  bitter  w^as 
was   vindicnte[^afc  h|s  brethren  of  St.  Sulpice  hastened  to  dis- 
her  attitude  ijj  i|:|  and  Dollier  de  Casson,  their  Superior, 
suits  also  follo|ig|y|peproved  the  preacher,  who  protested  m 
3f  Frontenae,  ^^ni  tpit  his  words  were  not  meant  to  apply  to 
le   new   conmiteiia>  in  particular,  but  only  to  bad  rulers  in 
terest,  the  go'jraL?  His   offences,   however,    did    not   cease 
a  great  part    |K^  sermon;  for  he  espoused   the  cause  of 
icted  Perrot,  at,     # 

^formttton  faite  par  nous,  Charles  le  Tardieu,  Sieur  de  Till;].     Tilly 
,  I.  78.  conUBlllfiioner  sent  by  the  council  to  inquire  into  the  affair. 


.'■ 


I 


3t) 


FRONTENAC  AND  PERROT. 


[1074, 


Perrot  v/ith  mere  than  zeal,  and  went  about  among 
the  colonists  to  r^oilect  attestations  in  his  favor. 
When  these  thir.gs  were  reported  to  Frontenac, 
his  ire  wa3  kindled,  and  he  summoned  Fenelon  be- 
fore the  council  at  Quebec  to  answer  the  charge 
of  instigating  sedition. 

Fenelon  h.-id  a  relative  and  friend  in  the  person 
of  the  Abbe  d'Urfe,  his  copartner  in  the  work  of 
the  missions.  D'Urfe,  anxious  to  conjure  down 
the  rising  storm,  went  to  Quebec  to  seek  an  inter- 
view with  Frontenac  ;  but,  according  to  his  own 
account,  he  was  very  ill  received,  and  threr  ""ened 
with  a  prison.  On  anothei  occasion,  the  count 
showed  him  a  letter  in  which  D'Urfe  was  charged 
with  having  used  abusive  language  concerning 
him.  Warm  words  ensued,  till  Frontenac,  grasp- 
ing his  cane,  led  the  abb^  to  the  door  and  dis.| 
missed  him,  berating  him  from  the  top  of  the 
stairs  in  tones  so  angry  that  the  sentinel  below  I 
spread  the  report  that  he  had  turned  his  visitor  | 
out  of  doors. ^ 

Two  offenders  were  now  arraigned  before  the  I 
council  of  Quebec  :   the  first  was  Perrot,  charged 
with  disobeying  the  royal  edicts  and  resisting  the 
royal  authority;  the  other  was  the  Abbe  Fenelon. 
The  councillors  were  at  this  time  united  in  the  I 
interest  of  Frontenac,  who  had  the  power  of  ap- 
pointing and  removing  them.     Perrot,  in  no  way| 
softened  by  a  long  captivity,  challenged  the  gov- 
ernor-general, who  presided  at  the  council  board, 
as  a  party  to  the  suit  and  his  personal  enemy,  and] 

»  iUiuoire  de  M,  (T Urf€  a  Colbert,  extracts  in  Faillon, 


I 


1074.] 


EXCITEMENT  OF  FlfcNELON. 


37 


took  exception  to  several  of  the  members  as  being 
connections  of  La  Nonguere.  Frontenac  with- 
drew, and  other  councillors  or  judges  were 
appointed  provisionally ;  but  these  were  chal- 
lenged in  turn  by  the  prisoner,  on  one  pretext 
or  another.  The  exceptions  were  overruled,  and 
the  trial  proceeded,  though  not  without  signs  of 
doubt  and  hesitation  on  the  part  of  some  of  the 
councillors.^ 

Meanwhile,  other  sessions  were  held  for  the  trial 
of  Fenelon ;  and  a  curious  scene  ensued.  Five 
councillors  and  the  deputy  attorney-general  were 
seated  at  the  board,  with  Frontenac  as  presiding 
I  judge,  his  hat  on  his  head  and  his  sword  at  his 
side,  after  the  established  custom.  Fenelon,  being 
led  in,  approached  a  vacant  chair,  and  was  about 
to  seat  himseK  with  the  rest,  when  Frontenac  in- 
terposed, telling  him  that  it  was  his  duty  to  remain 
standing  while  answering  the  questions  of  the 
Icouncil.  Fenelon  at  once  placed  himself  in  the 
Ichair,  and  replied  that  priests  had  '•he  right  to 
jgpeak  seated  and  with  heads  covered. 

"  Yes,"  returned  Frontenac,  "  when  they  are 
?ummoned  as  witnesses,  but  not  when  they  are 
jited  to  answer  charges  of  crime.'* 

"  My  crimes  exist  nowhere  uut  in  your  head," 
replied  the  abbe.  And,  putting  on  his  hat,  he 
Irew  it  down  over  his  brows,  rose,  gathered  his 
cassock  about  him,  and  walked  in  a  defiant  manner 


'  All  the  proceedings  in  the  affair  of  Perrot  will  be  found  in  full  in 
khe  Recfistre  des  Jngements  et  Deliberations  du  Conseil  Sup^rimr,  They 
Extend  from  the  end  of  January  to  the  beginning  of  November  1674 


38 


FRONTENAC  AND  PERROT. 


[io:J 


to  and  fro.     Frontenac  told  him  that  his  conduc 
was  wanting  in  respect  to  the  council,  and  to  tliJ 
governor  as  its  head.     Fenelon  several  times  tool 
off  his  hat,  and  pushed  it  on  again  more  angrilj 
than  ever,  saying  at  the  same  time  that  Frontena 
was  wanting  in  respect  to  his  character  of  priestl 
in  citing  him  hefore  a  civil  tribunal.     As  he  pe? 
eisted  in  his  refusal  to  take  the  required  attiiudJ 
he  was  at  length  told   that  he  might  leave  thl 
room.     After  being  kept  for  a  time  in  the  ante 
room   in   charge   of    a   constable,   he   was   agaii 
brought  before  the  council,  when  he  still  refuse 
obedience,  and  was  ordered  into  a  sort  of  honorablj 
imprisonment.' 

This  behavior  of  the  effervescent  abbe,  whicj 
Frontenac  justly  enough  characterizes  as  unwortlij 
of  his  birth  and  his  sacred  office,  was,  nevertheles 
founded  on  a  claim  sustained  by  many  precedent 
As  an  ecclesiastic,  Fenelon  insisted  that  the  bislioj 
alone,  and  not  the  council,  had  the  right  to  jiidge  hii 
Lilve  Perrot,  too,  he  challenged  his  judges  as  partly 
to  the  suit,  or  otherwise  interested  against  him. 
the  question  of  jurisdiction,  he  had  all  the  priesJ 
on  his  side.     Bishop  Laval  was  in  France  ;    aui 
Bernieres,  his  grand  vicar,  was  far  from  filling  till 
place  of   the  strenuous   and  determined   prelat| 
Yet  the  ecclesiastical  storm  rose  so  high  that  tl] 
councillors,   discouraged    and    daunted,   were  ii| 
longer  amenable  to  the  will  of  Frontenac ;  and 
was  resolved  at  last  to  refer  the  whole  matter  t| 

1  Conteste  entre  le  Gouverneur  et  VAhh€de  Fiixdon;  Jugements  et  Dilih 
Hons  du  Conseil  Sup&ieur,  21  Aout,  1674. 


;;^i 


APPEAL  TO  THE  KING. 


39 


[he  king.  Porrot  was  taken  from  the  prison,  which 
ic  hatl  occupied  from  January  to  November,  and 
Shipped  for  France,  along  with  Fenelon.     An  im- 

lense  mass  of  papers  was  sent  with  them  for  the 

istr notion  of   the  king ;    and   Frontenac  wrote  a 

long  despatch,  in  which  he  sets  forth  the  offences  of 

^errot  and  Fenelon,  the  pi'etensions  of  the  ecclesi- 

istics,  the  calumnies  he  had  incurred  in  his  efforts 

serve  his  Majesty,  and  the  insults  heaped  upon 
lim,  "  which  no  man  but  me  would  have  endured 
lo  patiently."     Indeed,  while  the  suits  were  pend- 

ig  before  the  council,  he  had  displayed  a  calmness 
tnd  moderation  which  surprised  his  opponents. 
f  Knowing  as  I  do,"  he  pursues,  "  the  cabals  and 

itrigues  that  are  rife  here,  I  must  expect  that 
jvcry  thing  will  be  said  against  me  that  the  most 
^rtf  Ld  slander  can  devise.  A  governor  in  this  coun- 
try would  greatly  deserve  pity,  if  he  were  left 
without  support ;  and,  even  should  he  make  mis- 
ikes,  it  would  surely  be  very  pardonable,  seeing 
hat  there  is  no  snare  that  is  not  spread  for  him, 
lid  that,  after  avoiding  a  hundred  of  them,  he  will 
lardly  escape  being  caught  at  last."  * 

In  his  charges  of  cabal  and  intrigue,  Frontenac 
lad  chiefly  in  view  the  clergy,  whom  he  pro- 
loundly  distrusted,  excepting  always  the  Eecollet 
[riars,  whom  he  befriended  because  the  bishop  and 
[he  Jesuits  opposed  them.  The  priests  on  their 
)art  declare  that  he  persecuted  them,  compelled 

^  Frontenac  au  Mlnistre,  14  Nov.,  1674.  In  a  preceding  letter,  sent  by 
|»fiy  of  Boston,  and  dated  16  February,  lie  says  that  lie  could  not  suffer 
?errot  to  go  unpunished  without  injury  to  the  regal  authority,  which 
he  is  resolved  to  defend  to  the  last  drop  of  his  blood. 


^0 


FRONTENAC  AND  PERROT. 


them  to  take  passports  like  laymen  when  travel] 
ling  about  the  colony,  and  even  intercepted  theij 
letters.  These  accusations  and  many  others  weij 
carried  to  the  king  and  the  minister  by  the  Abb( 
d'Urfe,  who  sailed  in  the  same  ship  with  Fenelon] 
The  moment  was  singularly  auspicious  to  him 
His  cousin,  the  Marquise  d'Allegre,  was  on  thj 
point  of  marrying  Seignelay,  the  son  of  the  minis] 
ter  Colbert,  who,  therefore,  was  naturally  inclined 
to  listen  with  favor  to  him  and  to  Fenelon,  liiJ 
relative.  Again,  Talon,  uncle  of  Perrot's  wife) 
held  a  post  at  court,  which  brought  him  into  closJ 
personal  relations  with  the  king.  Nor  were  thesJ 
the  only  influences  adverse  to  Frontenac  and  pral 
pitious  to  his  enemies.  Yet  his  enemies  were  disf 
appointed.  The  letters  written  to  li hn  both  bi 
Colbert  and  by  the  king  are  admirable  for  calraf 
ness  and  dignity.  The  following  is  from  that  oi| 
the  king :  — 

"  Though  I  do  not  credit  all  that  has  been  toldl 
me  concerning  various  little  annoyances  which  yoJ 
cause  to  the  ecclesiastics,  I  nevertheless  think  il[ 
necessary  to  inform  you  of  it,  in  order  that,  ifl 
true,  you  may  correct  yourself  in  this  particular] 
giving  to  all  the  clergy  entire  liberty  to  go  ariii 
come  throughout  all  Canada  without  compelling 
them  to  take  out  passports,  and  at  the  same  timel 
leaving  them  perfect  freedom  as  regards  theii| 
letters.  I  have  seen  and  carefully  examined  a 
that  you  have  sent  touching  M.  Perrot ;  and,  afteil 
having  also  seen  all  the  papers  given  by  hiiul 
in  his  defence,  I  have  condemned  his  action  iEi 


ANSWER   OF  LOUIS  XIV. 


41 


Ijnprisoning  an  officer  of  your  guard.  To  punish 
lim,  I  have  had  him  placed  for  a  short  time  in  the 
lastile,  that  he  may  learn  to  be  more  circumspect 
the  discharge  of  his  duty,  and  that  his  example 
lay  serve  as  a  warning  to  others.  But  after 
laving  thus  vindicated  my  authority,  which  has 
)een  violated  in  your  person,  I  will  say,  in  order 
that  you  may  fully  understand  my  views,  that  you 
should  not  without  absolute  necessity  cause  your 
jomraands  to  be  executed  within  the  limits  of  a 
local  government,  like  that  of  Montreal,  without 
irst  informing  its  governor,  and  also  that  the  ten 
lonths  of  imprisonment  which  you  have  made 
lim  undergo  seems  to  me  sufficient  for  his  fault, 
therefore  sent  him  to  the  Bastile  merely  as  a 
)ublic  reparation  for  having  violated  my  author- 
ity. After  keeping  him  there  a  few  days,  I  shall 
jend  him  back  to  his  government,  ordering  him 
irst  to  see  you  and  make  apology  to  you  for  all 
that  has  passed ;  after  w^hich  I  desire  that  you  re- 
tain no  resentment  against  him,  and  that  you  treat 
lim  in  accordance  with  the  powers  that  I  have 
dven  him."  ^ 

Colbert  writes  in  terms  equally  measured,  and 

idds :  "  After  having  spoken  in  the  name  of  his 

[Majesty,  pray  let  me  add  a  word  in  my  own.     By 

the  marriage  which  the  king  has  been  pleased  to 

lake  between  the  heiress  of  the  house  of  Allegre 

[and  my  son,  the  Abbe  d'Urfe   has  become  very 

Iclosely  connected  with  me,  since  he  is  cousin  ger- 

[man  of  my  daughter-in-law ;  and  this  induces  me 

*  Le  JRoi  a  Frontenac,  22  Avril,  1675. 


42 


FRONTENAC  AND  PERROT. 


to  request  you  to  show  him  especial  consideratioi] 
thou<''h,  in  the  exercise  of  his  profession,  he  \vi|| 
rarely  have  occasion  to  see  you." 

As  D'Urfc  had  lately  addressed  a  memorial  t(| 
Colbert,  in  which  the  conduct  of  Frontenac 
painted  in  the  darkest  colors,  the  almost  imperl 
ceptible  rebuke  couched  in  the  above  lines  duel 
no  little  credit  to  the  tact  and  moderation  of  tlij 
stern  minister. 

Colbert  next  begs  Frontenac  to  treat  with  kind] 
ness  the  priests  of  Montreal,  observing  that  Breton] 
villiers,  their  Superior  at  Paris,  is  his  particulaJ 
friend.  ''  As  to  M.  Perrot,"  he  continues,  "  sinc( 
ten  months  of  imprisonment  at  Quebec  and  threJ 
weeks  in  the  Bastile  may  suffice  to  atone  for  liiJ 
fault,  and  since  also  he  is  related  or  connected  witil 
persons  for  whom  I  have  a  great  regard,  I  prajl 
you  to  accept  kindly  the  apologies  which  he  wil 
make  you,  and,  as  it  is  not  at  all  likely  that  he  will 
fall  again  into  any  offence  approaching  that  whicli| 
he  has  committed,  you  will  give  me  especial  pleasj 
ure  in  granting  him  the  honor  of  your  favor  audi 
friendship."  ^ 

Fenelon,  though  the  recent  marriage  had  alliedl 
him  also  to  Colbert,  fared  worse  than  either  of  tbel 
other  parties  to  the  dispute.  He  was  indeed  sus- 
tained in  his  claim  to  be  judged  by  an  ecclesiastical 
tribunal ;  but  his  Superior,  Bretonvilliers,  forbade! 
him  to  return  to  Canada,  and  the  king  approved! 
the  prohibition.  Bretonvilliers  wrote  to  the  Sul- 
pitiau  priests  of  Montreal :  "  I  exhort  you  to  profit| 

1  ColbeH  a  Frontenac,  13  Mai,  1675. 


F^NELON  REBUKED. 


43 


)y  the  example  of  M.  de  Fenelon.  By  having 
msied  hiiiiseif  too  much  in  worldly  matters,  and 

lecldled  with  what  did  not  concern  him,  he  has 
•uined  his  own  prospects  and  injured  the  friends 

lioni  he  wished  to  serve.  In  matters  of  this  sort, 
|t  is  well  always  to  stand  neutral."  ^ 

1  Littre  de  Bretonvilliers,  7  Mai,  1075;  extract  in  Faillon.  Fc'neion, 
hough  wanting  in  prudence  and  dignity,  had  been  an  ardent  and 
Jcvoted  n)issionary.  In  relation  to  these  disputes,  I  liave  received  much 
lid  from  the  research  of  Abbe  Faillon,  and  from  the  valuable  paper  ol 
Lbbc  Verreau,  Les  deux  Abbe's  de  Fe'nelon,  printed  in  the  Canadian 
Journal  de  I' Instruct  ion  Publique,  Vol.  VIII. 


4 


CHAPTER  IV. 


1675-1682. 


FRONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNEAU. 


Pbontenac  reckives  a  Colleaoue.  —  He  opposes  the  Clergy, -I 
Dtbpdtes  in  the  CoiNoiL.  —  HoYAL  Inteuvkntiox.  —  FrontenacI 

BBBCK^Sn.  —  FhlSH  OIj  i!M{EAKS.  —  ChARC  E8  AND  CO''  'tvjrCHAUGKS  I 

—  The  D.sruTi:  grows  hot.  —  Duchesneau  c  l>emned  and! 
Frontenac  m'.  unkd.  —  The  Quarrel  continues.  —  The  King! 
L08E8  Patience.  —  Mork  A<:cuhatio.-8.  —  Factions  and  FeldsJ 

—  A  Side  Quarrel.  —  Tiik   JIi.no  threatens. — Frontenac  de- 
nounces THE  Priests.  —  'Cur    Governor    ana.    the    IntendantI 

J  recalled. —  Qualities  of  Frontenac. 

While  writing  to  Frontenac  in  terms  of  studied 
mildness,  the  king  and  Colbert  took  measures  to 
curb  his  power.  In  the  absence  of  the  bishop,  the 
appointment  and  removal  of  councillors  had  rested 
wholly  with  the  governor ;  and  hence  the  council | 
had  been  docile  under  his  will.  It  was  now  or- 
dained that  the  councillors  should  be  appointed  by  I 
the  king  himself.*  This  was  not  the  only  change. 
Since  the  departure  of  the  intendant  Talon,  his 
office  had  been  vacant:  and  Frontenac  was  left  to 
rule  alone.  This  seems  to  have  been  an  exper'-| 
ment  on  the  part  of  his  masters  at  Versailles,  who, 
knowing  the  peculiarities  of  his  temper,  w^rel 
perhaps  willing  to  try  the  effect  of  leaving  hiui 
without  a  colleague.      The  experiment  had   not| 

1  Edits  tt  Ch-donnanccs,  I.  84. 


'!  .1; 


167&-80.] 


WAR   WITH  THE   CLERGY. 


45 


icceeded.  An  intendant  was  now,  therefore, 
\eni  to  Quebec,  not  only  to  manage  the  details  of 
idniinistration,  but  also  to  watch  the  governor, 
[eep  Iiim,  if  possible,  within  prescribed  bounds, 
liid  report  his  proceedings  to  the  minister.  The 
Change  was  far  from  welcome  to  Frontenac,  whose 
leliglit  it  was  to  hold  all  the  reins  of  power  in  his 
)wn  hands;  nor  was  he  better  pleased  with  the 
return  of  Bishop  Laval,  which  presently  took 
)lace.  Three  preceding  governors  had  quarrelled 
I'ith  that  uncompi'omising  prolate  ;  and  there  was 
[ittle  hope  that  Frontenac  and  he  would  keep  the 
)eace.     All  the  signs  of  the  sky  foreboded  storm. 

The  storm  soon  came.  The  occasion  of  it  was 
that  old  vexed  question  of  the  sale  of  brandy, 
^liich  has  been  fully  treated  in  another  volume,^ 
md  on  which  it  is  needless  to  dwell  here.  Another 
lispute  quickly  followed  ;  and  here,  too,  the  gover- 
lor's  chief  adversaries  were  the  bishop  and  the 
jce^esiastics.  Duchesneau,  the  new  intendant,  took 
)art  with  them.  The  bishop  and  his  clergy  were, 
)n  their  side,  very  glad  of  a  secular*  ally ;  for  their 
)ower  had  greatly  fallen  since  the  days  of  Mezy, 
iiid  the  rank  and  imperious  character  of  Fronte- 
lac  appear  to  have  held  them  in  some  awe.  They 
Lvoided  as  far  as  they  could  a  direct  collision  with 
II im^  and  waged  vicarious  war  in  the  person  of  their 
friend  the  intendant.  Duchesneau  was  not  of  a 
conciliating  spirit,  and  he  felt  strong  in  the.  sup- 
[port  of  the  clergy;  while  Frontenac,  when  his 
[temper  was  roused,  would  fight  with  haughty  and 

1  The  Old  Regime  in  Canada. 


'I 


46 


FRONTENAC  AND  DUCIIESNEAC. 


110 


l>> 


■I 


impracticable  obstinacy  for  any  position  which  li!| 
had  once  assinnefl,  liowever  trivial  or  however  mis 
taken.  There  was  incessant  friction  between  tlJ 
two  colleagues  in  the  exercise  of  their  rospectivJ 
functions,  and  occasions  of  difference  were  rareh 
wanting. 

The  question  now  at  issue  was  that  of  honorJ 
and  precedence  at  church  and  in  religious  cere] 
monies,  matters  of  substantial  importance  undeJ 
the  Bourbon  rule.  Colbert  interposed,  ordeiedl 
Duchesneau  to  treat  Frontenac  with  becomiiij;! 
deference,  and  warned  him  not  to  make  himselil 
the  partisan  of  the  bishop ;  ^  while,  at  the  sjimJ 
time,  he  exhorted  Frontenac  to  live  in  harmoml 
with  the  intendant.-  The  dispute  continued  till| 
the  king  lost  patience. 

"  Through  all  my  kingdom,"  he  wrote  to  thel 
governor,  '^  I  do  not  hear  of  so  many  difficuhiesl 
on  this  matter  (of  ecclesiastical  honors)  as  I  see  inl 
the  church  of  Quebec."  ^  And  he  directs  him  tol 
conform  to  the  practice  established  in  the  city  oil 
Amiens,  and  to  e:5vact  no  more ;  "  since  you  ought 
to  be  satisfied  with  being  the  representative  of  mj 
person  in  the  country  where  I  have  placed  you  in 
command." 

At  the  same  time,  Colbert  corrects  the  inten- 
dant.  '^  A  memorial,"  he  wrote,  "  has  been  placedl 
in  my  hands,  touching  various  ecclesiastical  honors, 
wherein  there  continually  appears  a  great  preten- 

1  Colbert  a  Diiehrsnemi,  1  Mai,  1677. 

2  Ibid.,  18  Mai,  1677. 

•  Le  Roy  a  Frontenac,  25  Avril,  1679. 


r.'v-so.] 


THE  RECONSTRUCTED  COUNCIL. 


47 


ton  on  your  part,  and  on  that  of  the  bisliop  of 

iiiobec  in  your  favor,  to  estabhsh  an  equality  be- 
^ve(Ml  the  governor  and  you.  I  think  I  have 
[inady  said  enough  to  hnul  you  to  know  yourself, 

1(1  to  understand  the  difforonce  between  a  gov- 
[rnor  and  an  intendant;  so  that  it  is  no  longer 
|coessary  for  me  to  enter  into  particulars,  which 

11  lid  only  serve  to  show  you  that  you  are  com- 
pletely in  the  wrong." ' 

Scarcely  was  this  quarrel  suppressed,  when 
[notlier  sprang  up.     Since  the  arrival  of  the  in- 

mdant  and  the  return  of  the  bishop,  the  council 
lad  ceased  to  be  in  the  interest  of  Frontenac. 
leveral  of  its  members  were  very  obnoxious  to 
[iin  ;  and  chief  among  these  was  Villeray,  a  former 

luncillor  whom  the  king  had  lately  reinstated. 
Proiitonac  admitted  him  to  his  seat  with    reluc- 

mce.  "I  obey  your  orders,"  he  wrote  mourn- 
blly  to  Colbert ;  "  but  Villeray  is  the  principal 
[nd  most  dangerous  instrument  of  the  bishop  and 

10  Jesuits."  ^    He  says,  farther,  that  many  people 

link  him  to  be  a  Jesuit  in  disguise,  and  that  he 
an  intriguing  busybody,  who  makes  trouble 
Iverywhere.  He  also  denounces  the  attorney- 
jcncral,  Auteuil,  as  an  ally  of  the  Jesuits.  An- 
ther of  the  reconstructed  council,  Tilly,  meets 
|is  cordial  approval ;  but  he  soon  found  reason  to 
hange  his  mind  concerning  him. 

The  king  had  recently  ordered  that  the  inten- 
|ant,  though  holding  only  the  third  rank  in  the 

1  Colbert  h  Duchesneau,  8  Mai,  1679. 
*  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  14  Nov.,  1674. 


48 


FRONTENAC  AND  DUCUKSNKAU. 


[w: 


coiinoll,  .should  act  as  its  president.'  The  conj 
mission  of  Duchesneau,  however,  eni{)o\vered  hirJ 
to  preside  only  in  the  absence  of  tiie  governor;] 
while  Frontenac  is  styled  "  chief  and  president  J 
the  council  "  in  several  of  the  despatches  addres.sel 
to  him.  Here  was  an  inconsistency.  Both  partij 
claimed  the  right  of  presiding,  and  both  coulj 
rest  their  claim  on  a  clear  expression  of  the  royi 

will. 

Frontenac  rarely  began  a  new  quarrel  till  tlij 
autiinm  vessels  had  sailed  for  France  ;  because 
full  year  must  then  elapse  befoi'e  his  adversariej 
could  send  their  complaints  to  the  king,  and  si| 
months  more  before  the  king  could  send  back  m 
ans>ver.  The  governor  had  been  heard  to  say,  oJ 
one  of  these  occasions,  that  he  should  now  bJ 
master  for  eighteen  months,  subject  only  to  anl 
swering  with  iiis  head  for  what  he  might  do.  l| 
was  when  the  last  vessel  was  gone  in  the  autui 
of  1678  that  he  demanded  to  be  styled  chief  ani 
president  on  the  records  of  the  council ;  and  liJ 
showed  a  letter  from  the  king  in  which  he  was 
entitled.^  In  spite  of  this,  Duchesneau  resistedl 
and  appealed  to  precedent  to  sustain  his  positionj 
A  long  series  of  stormy  sessions  followed, 
councillors  in  the  clerical  interest  supported  tliJ 
intendant.  Frontenac,  chafed  and  angry,  refused 
all  compromise.     Business  was  stopped  for  weeks] 

1  Declaration  du  Roy,  23  Sept.,  1675. 

2  "Presider  au  Conseil  iSouverain  en  I'absence  du  dit  Sieur  de  Fm 
tenac."  —  Commission  de  Duchesneau,  5  Juin,  1675. 

8  This  letter,  still  preserved  in  ihe  Archives  de  la  Marine,  is  dated  1 
Mai,  1678.    Several  other  letters  of  Louis  XIV.  give  Frontenac  the  sani^ 
designation. 


I7&-80.] 


THE   KING   INTEUVENES. 


40 


iiicliosnoaii  lost  temper,  and  became  abusive, 
.utoiiil  tried  to  interpose  in  Ix'lialf  of  tlic  inten- 
Innt.  Frontenac  struck  the  laljle  with  his  list,  and 
)1(I  him  fiercely  that  he  would  teach  iiini  his  duty. 
[v(M'V  day  embittered  llie  strife.  The  governor 
liuir  (he  declaration  usual  with  liini  on  su(;h  occa- 
tons,  that  he  would  not  permit  the  royal  authority 

suffer  in  his  person.  At  length  he  banished 
rom  Quebec  his  three  most  strenuous  opponents, 
''illeray,  Tilly,  and  Auteuil,  and  commanded  them 

remain  in  their  country  houses  till  they  re- 
iivefl  his  farther  oi'ders.  All  attempts  at  com- 
roinise  proved  fruitless;    and  Auteuil,  in  belialf 

the  exiles,  appealed  piteously  to  the  king. 

The  answer  came  in  the  following  summer: 
i Monsieur  le  Comte  de  Frontenac,"  wrote  Louis 
[I\\,  '^  I  am  surprised  to  learn  all  the  new^  trouldes 
id  dissensions  that  have  occurred  in  my  country 

New  France,  more  especially  since  I  have  clearly 
id  strongly  given  you  to  understand  that  your 
)le  care  should  be  to  maintain  liarmony  and  peace 

long  all  my  subjects  dw^elling  therein ;  but  what 
irprises  me  still  more  is  that  in  nearly  all  the  dis- 

ites  whicli  you  have  caused  you  have  advanced 

[aims  which   have    very  little   foundation.      My 

licts,  declarations,  and  ordinances  had  so  plainly 

[ade  knowm  to  you  my  will,  that  I  have  great 

luse  of  astonishment  that  you,  whose  duty  it  is 

see  them  faithfully  executed,  have  yourself  set 
pretensions  entirely  opposed  to  them.  You 
ive  wished  to  be  styled  chief  and  president  on 
le  records  of  the  Supreme  Council,  which  is  con- 


i    ! 


60 


FPiONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNEAU. 


[16/ 


ij 


trary  to  my  edict  concerning  that  council ;  and 
am  the  more  surprised  at  this  demand,  since  I  an 
very  sure  that  you  are  the  only  man  in  my  kirioj 
dom  who,  being  honored  with  the  title  of  governoj 
and  lieutenant-general,  would  care  to  be  style 
chief  and  president  of   such  a  council  as  that 
Quebec." 

He  then  declares  that  neither  Frontenac  nor  tlil 
intend  ant  is  to  have  the  title  of  president,  but  thai 
the  intendant  is  to  perform  the  functions  of  pr( 
siding  officer,  as  determined  by  the  edict.  Hj 
continues  :  — 

^'  Moreover,  your  abuse  of  the  authority  whicbl 
have  confided  to  you  in  exiling  two  councillors  am 
the  attorney-general  for  so  trivial  a  cause  cannoj 
meet  my  approval ;  and,  were  it  not  for  the  cliJ 
tinct  assurances  given  me  by  your  friends  that  yoj 
will  act  v^^ith  more  moderation  in  future,  and  neve) 
rq-ain  fall  into  offences  of  this  nature,  I  shoiill 
have  resolved  on  recallins:    '^ou. 


"  1 


O      ./ 


■..! 
I! 


Colbert  wrote  to  him  with  equai  severity:  '" 
have  communicated  to  the  king  the  contents  of  aj 
the  despatches  which  you  have  written  to  me  dui 
ing  the  past  year ;  and  as  the  matters  of  whic| 
they  treat  are  sufficiently  ample,  including  dissei 
sions  almost  universal  amonii:  those  whose  dutvil 
is  to  preserve  harmony  in  the  country  under  yoij 
command,  his  Majesty  has  been  pleased  to  examiiij 
all  the  papers  sent  by  all  the  parties  interestel 


*  Lc  Roy  a  Frontenac,  29  Avril,  1680.     A  decree  of  the  council 
state  soon  after  determined  the  question  of  presidency  in  accord  wii| 
this  letter,     ^dits  et  Ordonnances,  I.  238. 


lG7:V-30.] 


FRESH  OUTBREAKS. 


61 


and  more  particularly  those  appended  to  your  let- 
ters. He  has  thereupon  ordered  me  distinctly  to 
linake  known  to  you  his  intentions."  The  minister 
Itlicn  proceeds  to  reprove  him  sharply  in  the  name 
)f  the  king,  and  concludes :  ''  It  is  difficult  for  me 
to  add  any  thing  to  what  I  have  just  said.  Consider 
\cll  that,  if  it  is  any  advantage  or  any  satisfaction 
to  you  that  his  Majesty  should  be  satisfied  with 
your  services,  it  is  necessary  that  you  change 
entirely  the  conduct  which  you  have  hitherto 
)ursued."  ^ 

This,  one  would  think,  might  have  sufficed  to 
)ring  the  governor  to  reason,  but  the  violence  of 
lis  resentments  and  antipathies  overcame  the  very 
slender  share  of  prudence  with  which  nature  had 
jiidowed  him.  One  morning,  as  he  sat  at  the  head 
)f  the  council  board,  the  bisiiop  on  his  right  hand, 
uid  the  intendant  on  his  left,  a  woman  made  her 
ippearanco  with  a  sealed  packet  of  papers.  She 
ras  the  wife  of  the  councillor  Amours,  whose  chair 
vas  vacant  at  the  table.  Important  bu^'iness  was 
|n  hand,  the  registration  of  a  royal  edict  of  am- 
lesty  to  the  coureii7\s  de  hois.  The  intendant, 
vho  well  knew  what  th.e  packet  contained,  de- 
nanded  that  it  should  be  opened.  Frontenac  in- 
sisted that  the  business  before  the  Council  should 


^  Colbert  a  Frontenac,  4  Dec,  1679.  This  letter  seems  to  have  been 
bent  by  a  special  messenger  by  way  of  New  England.  It  was  too  late 
p  the  season  to  send  directly  to  Canada.  On  tlie  qnarrel  about  the 
presidency,  Duchesneau  au  Ministre,  10  Nov.,  1G79 ;  Auteuil  an  Ministre, 
10  Aug.,  1670  ;  Contestations  entre  le  Sieur  Comte  de  Frontenac  et  M.  Dxch'S- 
teau,  Chevalier.  This  last  paper  consists  of  voluminous  extracts  from 
lie  records  of  the  council. 


n- 


52 


FRONTENAC  AND  DUCIIESNEAU. 


LIG8I.H1G8I.J 


I 


proceed.     The  intendant  renewed  his  demand,  the 
council  sustained  him,  and  the  packet  was  openec 
accordingly.    It  contained  a  petition  from  Amours.l 
stating  that  Frontenac  had  put  him  in  prison,  be- 
cause, having  obtained  in  due  form  a  passport  toj 
fiend  a  canoe  to  his  fishing  station  of  Matane,  he 
had   afterwards   sent  a   sail-boat   thither  without 
applying  for   another   passport.      Frontenac   had 
sent  for  him,  and  demanded  by  what  right  he  did 
so.     Amours  replied  that  he  believed  that  he  had 
acted  in  accordance  with    the   intentions   of   the 
king ;  whereupon,  to  borrow  the  words  of  the  peti- 
tion, "  Monsieur  the  governor  fell  into  a  rage,  and] 
said  to  your  petitioner,  ^  I  will  teach  you  the  inten- 
tions of  the  king,  and  you  shall  stay  in  prison  till  I 
you  learn  them  ; '  and  your  petitioner  was  shut  up 
in  a  chamber  of  the  chateau,  wherein  he  still  re- 
mains."    He  proceeds  to  pray  that  a  trial  may  he| 
granted  him  according  to  law.' 

Discussions  now  ensued  which  lasted  for  days, 
and  now  and  then  became  tempestuous.  The  gov- 
ernor, who  had  declared  that  the  council  had  no- 1 
thing  to  do  with  the  matter,  and  that  he  could  not 
waste  time  in  talking  about  it,  was  not  always 
present  at  the  meetings,  and  it  sometimes  became 
necessary  to  depute  one  or  more  of  the  members| 
to  visit  him.  Auteuil,  the  attorney-general,  hav- 
ing been  employed  on  this  unenviable  errand, 
begged  the  council  to  dispense  him  from  such  duty| 
in  future,  "  by  reason,"  as  he  says,  "  of  the  abuse, 
ill  treatment,  and  threats  which  he  received  froni| 

1  Registre  du  Conseil  Snp&ieur,  16  Aoust,  1681. 


1081.J 


CHARGES  AND  COUNTERCHARGES. 


53 


Monsieur   the   governor,   when   be   last   had   the 

honor  of  behig  deputed   to   conf  jr  with  him,  the 

particulars   whereof  he  begs   to  be  excused  from 

reporting,  lest  the  anger  of  Monsieur  the  governor 

bould  be  kindled  against  him  still  more."  '     Fron- 

enac,  hearing  of  this  charge,  angrily  denied  it, 

aying   that    the   attorney-general   had  slandered 

nd  insulted  him,  and  that  it  was  his  custom  to  do 

30.    Auteuil  rejoined  that  the  governor  had  ac- 

jused  him  of  habitual  lying,  and  told  him  that  he 

voiild  have  his  hand  cut  off.     All  these  charges 

md  countercharges  may  still  be  found  entered  in 

[ue  form  on  the  old  records  of   the  council   at 

►uebec. 

It  was  as  usual  upon  the  intendant  that  the 
vrath  of  Frontenac  fell  most  fiercely.  He  accuses 
liin  of  creating  cabals  and  intrigues,  and  causing 
lot  only  the  council,  but  all  the  country,  to  forget 
|;he  respect  due  to  the  representative  of  his  Majesty. 
)nce,  when  Frontenac  was  present  at  the  session, 

dispute  arose  about  an  entry  on  the  record.  A 
haft  of  it  had  been  made  in  terms  agreeable  to  the 
governor,  who  insisted  that  the  intendant  should 
[ign  it.  Duchesneau  replied  that  he  and  the  clerk 
^ould  go  into  the  adjoining  room,  where  they  could 
^xamine  it  in  peace,  and  put  it  into  a  proper  form. 
'lontenac  rejoined  that  he  would  then  have  no 
[ecurity  that  what  he  had  said  in  the  council  would 
)e  accurately  reported.  Duchesneau  persisted,  and 
ras  going  out  with  the  draft  in  his  hand,  when 
frontenac  planted  himseK  before  the  door,  and 

•  Registre  du  Conse'd  Sup&ieur,  i  Nov.,  1681 


54 


FKONTENAC  AND  DUCUKSNEAU.     [167&-^:^Bj75-82.] 


S     i 


told  him  tliat  he  should  not  leiivc  the  council 
chamber  till  he  had  signed  the  paper.  ''  The 
will  get  out  of  the  window,  or  else  stay  here  atj 
day,"  returned  Duchesneau.  A  lively  debate  oiij 
sued,  and  the  governor  at  length  yielded  the  point,' 
The  imprisonment  of  Amours  was  short,  bnil 
strife  did  not  cease.  The  disputes  in  the  council 
were  accompanied  throughout  with  other  quarrclj 
whicl^  were  complicated  with  them,  and  whicli 
were  worse  than  all  the  rest,  since  they  involvel 
more  important  matters  and  covered  a  wider  field 
They  related  to  the  fur  trade,  on  which  hung  tliJ 
very  life  of  the  colony.  Merchants,  traders,  aul 
even  habitants,  were  ranged  in  two  contendhii 
factions.  Of  one  of  these  Frontenac  was  the  chieil 
With  him  were  La  Salle  and  his  lieutenant, 
Foret;  Du  Lhut,  the  famous  leader  of  coureurs  ii\ 
hois  ;  Boisseau,  agent  of  the  farmers  of  the  revenue 
Barrels,  the  governor's  secretary ;  Bizard,  lieu] 
tenant  of  his  guard  j  and  various  others  of  greateJ 
or  less  intluence.  On  the  other  side  were  tliJ 
members  of  the  council,  with  Aubert  de  la  ClieJ 
naye,  Le  Moyne  and  f^ll  his  sons,  Louis  Joliet 
Jacques  Le  Ber,  Sorel,  Boucher,  Varennes,  aiil 
many  more,  all  supported  by  the  intendant  Duclic^ 
neau,  and  also  by  his  fast  allies,  the  ecclesiastic*. 
The  faction  under  the  lead  of  the  governor  liadl 
every  advantage,  for  it  was  sustained  by  all  th«| 
power  of  his  otiice.  Duchesneau  was  beside  himl 
self  with  rage.  He  wrote  to  the  court  letters  full 
of  bitterness,  accused    Frontenac  of   illicit  trade] 

1  Reyistre  du  Conseil  Sup&ieiir,  1G81. 


[enounced  . 
If  proccS'Vc 
(hai'gcs. 

But  if  D 

rroiiienac ;  i 

|i(l  the  gove 

10  still  mor 

isk  of  com 

n-eo  tliousa 

loan  withou 

I  have   05 

lemorials  tli 

hssels  last  . 

10  letters  c 

javes  somet 

ir  more  to 

^liJit  you  sf 

n'th  the  Tnd 

gainst  lihn, 

nitions ;  bn 

|>laints,  you 

)undation,  c 

ditticult 

diich  the  se 

IV,  without 

Ihange  does 

lext  year,  h 

jtHce." ' 

At  the  san 
lilluding  to  tl 
lorting  the 


J75-82.] 


DUCHESNEAU  CONDEMNED. 


55 


Iciioiinced  Ills  followers,  and  sent  huge  bundles 
If  proccs-verbaux  and  attestations  to  prove  his 
(hiU'gcs. 

But  if  Duchesneau  wrote   letters,  so    too   did 
iiontcnac ;  and  if  the  intendant  sent  proofs,  so  too 
|i(l  the  governor.    Upon  the  unfortunate  king  and 
ic  still  more  unfortunate  minister  fell  the  dillicnlt 
isk  of  composing  the  quarrels  of  their  servants, 
iroc  thousand  miles  away.    They  treated  Duches- 
^e;ui  without   ceremony.     Colbert  wrote  to  him : 
1  have   examined    all   the   letters,   papers,    and 
lomorials  that  you  sent  me  by  the  return  of  the 
Vessels  last  November,  and,  though  it  appears  by 
le  letters  of  M.  de  Frontenac  that  his  conduct 
javes  something  to  be  desired,  there  is  as;  u redly 
ir  more  to   blame   in  yours  than  in  his.     As  to 
hilt  you  say  concerning  his  violence,  his  trade 
itli  the  Indians,  and  in  general  all  that  you  allege 
gainst  Inm,  the  king  has  written  to  him  his  in- 
;iitions ;  but  since,  in  the  midst  of  all  your  com- 
plaints, you  say  many  things  which  are  without 
)un(ktion,  or  which  are  no  concern  of  yours,  it 
difficult  to  believe  that  you  act  in  the  spirit 
diich  the  service  of  the  king  demands ;  that  is  to 
IV,  without  interest  and   without  passion.     If  a 
^hange  does  not  appear  in  your  conduct  before 
lext  year,  his  Majesty  will  not  keep  you  in  your 
►ffice."  ' 

At  the  same  time,  the  king  wrote  to  Frontenac, 
^lluding  to  the  complaints  of  Duchesneau,  and  ex- 
lorting  the  governor  to  live  on  good  terms  with 

^  Colbert  a  Duchesneau,  15  Mai,  1678. 


56 


FRONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNEAU.     [16To-iMir,75-S2.] 


fe 


him.     The  general  tone  of  the  letter  is  mocleratf] 
but  the  followinf^  .sif^nificant  warning  occurs  in  it 
"  Althongli  no  gentleman  in  the  position  in  wliici 
T  have  placed  you  ought  to  take  part  in  any  trad 
directly  or  indirectly,  either  by  himself  or  any 
his  servants,  I  nevertheless  now  prohibit  you  at 
solutely  from  doing  so.     Not  only  abstain  fro 
trade,  but  act  in  such  a  manner  that  nobody  ci 
even  suspect  you  of  it ;  and  this  will  be  easy,  sin 
the  truth  will  readily  come  to  light."  ^ 

Exhortation  and  warnins*  were  vain  alike.  Tl 
first  ships  which  returned  that  year  from  Canadi 
brought  a  series  of  despatches  from  the  intendantj 
renewing  all  his  charges  more  bitterly  than  before! 
The  minister,  out  of  patience,  replied  by  beratiii 
him  without  mercy.  "  You  may  rest  assured,"  h 
concludes,  "  that,  did  it  not  appear  by  your  latei 
despatches  that  the  letters  you  have  received  ha\ 
beo-un  to  make  vou  understand  that  you  have  for 
gotten  yourself,  it  would  not  have  been  possible  ti 
prevent  the  king  from  recalling  you."  ^ 

Duchesneau,  in  return,  protests  all  manner  oi 
deference  to  the  governor,  but  still  insists  that  In 
sets  the  royal  edicts  at  naught ;  protects  a  host  oi] 
coureiirs  de  hois  who  are  in  league  wi+li  him ;  cor 
responds  with  Du  Lhut,  their  chief ;  shares  his  ille 
gal  profits,  and  causes  all  the  disorders  which  alHid 
the  colony.  "  As  for  me,  Monseigneur,  I  liavf| 
done  every  thing  within  the  scope  of  my  office 
prevent  these  evils ;  but  all  the  pains  I  have  takeiij 

1  Le  Roy  a  Frontenac,  12  Mai,  1678. 

2  Colbert  a  Duchesneau,  25  Avril,  1679. 


have  only 
tieur  tho 

rdi  nances 
la  true  acco 
'k  hois,  of 
0  Monsiei 
clliu!.i:  him 
kliaiueful  t 
pur  master 
|awe,  who 
ivhom  all  1 
lof  knowing 
60  many  i 
orders  are 
land  an  inte 
ent  with  s[ 
Ihaving  mac 
on  myself  \) 
|l  was  forc< 
ger.  Th 
and  did  all 
cuted  ;  but. 
with  many 
attempt  to  i 
ihimself  ma; 
soon  as  the 
camp,  wdiicl 
did  their  d 
being  anno; 
Ftead  of  be 
furs  they  ] 
operations. 


lir,7.>-82.] 


DUCHESNEAU  PERSISTS. 


57 


Ihave  only  served  to  increase  the  aversion  of  Mon- 
jsieiir  the  governor  against  me,  and  to  bring  my 
)rflinances  into  contempt.     This,  Monseigneur,  is 
la  true  account  of  the  disobedience  of  the  coureurs 
ik  hois,  of  which  I  twice   had  the  honor  to  speak 
to  Monsieur  the  governor;  and  I  could  not  help 
telling  him,  with  ail  possible  deference,  that  it  was 
Bliaiiieful  to  the  colony  and  to  us  that  the  king, 
lour  master,  of  whom  the  whole  world   stands  in 
|awc,  who  has  just  given  law  to  all  Europe,  and 
whom  all  his  subjects  adore,  should  have  the  pain 
|of  knowing  that,  in  a  country  which  has  received 
Ibo  many  marks  of    his   paternal    tenderness,  his 
)r(lers  are  violated  and  scorned ;  and  a  governor 
{and  an  intendant  stand  by,  with  folded  arms,  con- 
tent with  saying  that  the  evil  is  past  remedy.    For 
laving  made  these  representations  to  him,  I  drew 
|on  myself  w^ords  so  full  of  cor  tempt  and  insult  that 
was  forced   to   leave  his   room  to  appease  his 
[anger.     The  next  morning  I  w^ent  to  him  again, 
land  did  all  I  could  to  have  my  ordinances  exe- 
Icuted  ;  but,  as  Monsieur  the  govei'nor  is  interested 
Iwith  many  of  the  coureurs  de  hois,  it  is  useless  to 
[attempt  to  do  any  thing.     He  has  gradually  made 
[himself  master  of  the  trade  of  Montreal ;  and,  as 
soon  as  the  Indians  arrive,  he  sets  guards  in  their 
jcamp,  which  would  be  very  well,  if  these  soldiers 
did  their  duty  and   protected   the  savages  from 
Ibeing  annoyed  and  plundered  by  the  French,  in- 
Ftead  of  being  employed  to  discover  how  many 
furs  they  have    brought,  w^ith  a  view  to   future 
[operations.     Monsieur  the  governor  then  compels 


58 


FRONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNE AU. 


11075-^2 


the  Indians  to  pay  b's  guards  for  protecting  tlieni; 
and  he  has  never  allowed  them  to  trade  witlii 
the  inhabitants  till  they  had  first  given  him  a  cer- 
tain  number  of  packs  of  beaver  skins,  which  he 
calls  his  presents.  His  guards  trade  with  them 
openly  at  the  fair,  with  their  bandoleers  on  thoii! 
shoulders." 

He  says,  farther,  thi^t  Frontenac  sends  np  goo*^ 
to  Mont 'oal,  L'i  .  a^:l(ys  persons  to  trade  in  \m\ 
behalf;  and  'lu:  v\ :  it  with  the  beaver  skins  ex- 
acted by  him  ana  his  guards  under  the  name  oil 
presents,  and  those  which  he  and  his  favorites 
obtain  in  trade,  only  the  smaller  part  of  what  the 
Indians  bring  to  market  ever  reaches  the  people  of| 
the  colony.^ 

This  despatch,  and  the  proofs  accompanying  it, 
drew  from  the  king  a  sharp  reproof  to  Frontenac,  I 

*^  What  has  passed  in  regard  to  the  coureiirs  di\ 
hols  is  entirely  contrary  t*.  my  orders  ;  and  I  can- 
not receive  in  excuse  for  it  your  allegation  that  itl 
is  the  intendant  who  countenances  them  by  the 
trade  he  carries  on,  for  I  perceive  clearly  that  tlie 
fault  is  your  own.  As  I  see  that  you  often  turn 
the  orders  that  I  give  you  against  the  very  object 
for  which  they  are  given,  bew^are  not  to  do  so  on 
this  occasion.  I  shall  hold  you  answerable  for 
bringing  the  disorder  of  the  coureiirs  de  hois  to 
an  end  throughout  Canada ;  and  this  you  Avill 
easily  succeed  in  doing,  if  you  make  a  proper  ii^e 
of  my  authority.  Take  care  not  to  persuade  your- 
Helf  that  what  I  w^rite  to  you  comes  from  the  ill| 

1  Duchesneau  au  Minintre,  10  Nov.,  1679. 


uiger,  exce 
jauthority  ol 
[guardian. 


1675-82.] 


FRONTENAC  ASKS  FOR  HELP. 


59 


iltlccr^  of  the  intondant.  It  results  from  what  I 
jully  know  from  every  thinr^  which  reaches  me 
[roiii  Ciuiada,  proving  but  too  well  what  you  are 
loino-  t'  ore.  The  bisho[>.  the  ecclesiastics,  the 
[(•suit  h>.  hers,  the  Supreme  Council,  and,  in  a  word, 
jverybf'  'y,  comp'ain  of  you ;  but  i  am  willing  to 
Klieve  .hat  you  will  chanro  your  conduct,  and 
let  with  the  mod  »rc,uon  necessary  for  the  good  of 
the  colony."  * 

Colbert  wrote  in  a  similar  strain  ;  and  Frontcnac 
jaw  that  his  position  was  becoming  critical.     He 
showed,  it  is  true,  no  sign  of   that  change  of  con- 
[iict  which  the  king  had  demanded ;  but  he  ap- 
)eale(l  to  his  allies  at  court  to  use  fresh  efforts  U 
jiistain   him.     Among  the  rest,  he  had  a  stronp; 
triend  In  the  Marechal  de  Belief onds,  to  whom  L 
rote,  in  the  character  of  an  abused  and  much 
jiifforing  man :  "  You  exhort  me  to  have  patience, 
uid  I  agree  with  you  that  those  placed  in  a  posi- 
tion of  command  cannot  have  too  much.     For  thi& 
reason,  I  have  given  examples  of  it  here  such  as 
)erhaps  no   governor  ever   gave   before ;    and   I 
Kive  found  no  great  difficulty  in  doing  so,  because 
felt  myself  to  be  the  master.     Had  I  been  in 
private  station,  I  could  not  have  endured  such 
lutrageous  insults  without  dishonor.     I  have  al- 
f.  c.ys  passed  over  in  silence  those  directed  against 
ne  personally ;    and   have   never   given    way   to 
mger,  except  when   attacks  w^ere   made   on   the 
Luthority  of  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be  the 
guardian.     You   could    not  believe   all    the    an- 


Le  Roy  a  Frontenac,  29  Avril,  1680. 


60 


FRONTENAC  AND   DUrilESNEAU. 


[167M2 


nojances  which  the  intendiiiit  tries  to  put  upon 
me  every  flay,  and  which,  as  you  advise  lue,  I 
scorn  or  disregard.  It  wouhl  require  a  virtue 
like  yours  to  turn  them  to  all  the  good  use  of 
which  they  are  capable ;  yet,  great  as  the  virtue 
is  which  has  enabled  you  to  possess  your  soul  in 
tranquillity  amid  all  the  troubles  ol"  the  court,  ] 
doubt  if  you  could  preserve  such  complete  equa- 
nimity among  the  miserable  tumults  of  Canada."' 
Having  given  the  principal  charges  of  Duches-I 
neau  against  Frontenac,  it  is  time  to  give  those  oi 
Frontenac  against  Duchesneau.  The  governor  sajs 
that  all  the  coureurs  de  hois  woidd  be  brought  tol 
submission  but  for  the  intendant  and  his  allies, 
who  protect  them,  and  carry  on  trade  by  theirl 
means  ;  that  the  seigniorial  house  of  Duchesneau's 
partner.  La  Chesnaye,  is  the  constant  resort  oi 
these  outlaws;  and  that  he  and  his  associates  have 
large  storehouses  at  Montreal,  Isle  St.  Paul,  and 
Kiviere  du  Loup,  whence  they  send  goods  into 
the  Lidian  country,  in  contempt  of  the  king's 
orders.^  Frontenac  also  complains  of  numberlef^s 
provocations  from  the  intendant.  "It  is  no  fault 
of  mine  that  I  am  not  on  good  terms  with  M, 
Duchesneau  ;  for  I  have  done  every  thing  I  could 
to  that  end,  being  too  submissive  to  your  Majesty's 
commands  not  to  suppress  my  sharpest  indignation  | 
the  moment  your  will  is  known  to  me.  But,  Sire. 
it  is  not  so  with  him ;  and  his  desire  to  excite  new 
disputes,  in  the  hope  of  making  me  appear  theii 

*    1  Fronbnac  an  Mare'chal  de  Bellcfunds,  14  Nov.,  1680. 
^  Mffmoire  et  Preuves  du  Desordre  des  Coureurs  de  Bois, 


)(t>-' 


82.) 


TIIK  Ni:W  MINISTER. 


Gl 


riiu'ipnl  author,  has  been  so  great  that  the  L'lst 
iliips  were   hardly  gone,  when,    forgetting    what 

our  Majesty  had  enjoined  upon  us  both,  he  began 

hose  dissensions  afresh,  in  spite  of  all  my  preeau- 
ijons.  If  T  depart  from  my  usual  reserve  in  regard 
[o  liini,  and  make  bold  to  ask  justice  at  the  hands 
^f  vour  Majesty  for  the.  wrongs  and  insults  I  have 
mdcrgone,  it  is  because  nothing  but  your  authority 
tan  keep  them  within  bounds.  I  have  never  suf- 
[ered  more  in  my  life  than  wdien  I  have  been  made 
to  appear  as  a  man  of  violence  and  a  disturber  of 
[ho  ollicers  of  justice  :  for  I  have  always  confined 

lyself  to  what  your  Majesty  has  prescribed  ;   chat 

3,  to  exhorting  them  to  do  their  duty  when  I 
law  that  they  failed  in  it.     This  has  drawn  upon 

10,  both  from  them  and  from  M.  Ducliesneau, 
(iich  cutting  affronts  that  your  Majest}-  would 
lardly  credit  them." ' 

In  1G81,  Seignelay,  the  son  of  Colbert,  entered 
ipon  the  charge  of  the  colonies ;  and  both  Fron- 

mac  and  Ducliesneau  hastened  to  congratulate 
lim,  protest  their  devotion,  and  overwhelm  him 

dth  mutual  accusations.  The  intendant  declares 
Ihat,  out  of  pure  zeal  for  the  king's  service,  he 
mall  tell  him  every  thing.  "  Disorder,"  he  says, 
r  reigns  everywhere  ;  universal  confusion  prevails 
proughout  every  department  of  business ;  the 
)leasure  of  the  king,  the  orders  of  the  Supreme 

Council,  and  my  ordinances  remain  unexecuted  ; 
Justice  is  openly  violated,  and  trade  is  destroyed ; 
riolence,  upheld  by  authority,  decides  every  thing ; 

1  Frontenac  au  Roy,  2  Nov.,  1681. 


G2 


FUONTKNAC   AND  DUrilESNKAIT. 


[lOTi^^^llCSll 


h  ^ 


nnd  Tiolliin;^^  consoles  flio  po()pl(»,  who  gronii  \\\\\\ 
oiii  during'  to  ooin|)lMln,  hut  Iht-  liopo,  Mons(M«j;n(Mirj 
(hat  yoii  Nvill  hnvi*  llx*  <j;o()(ln(\ss  lo  (*on(l(»s('(J 
to  ho  ni()\<M]  hv  (heir  inisfortunos.  No  posilioj 
could  ho  inoro  dislrc-sing  ihaii  niiiu',  since,  if 
conceal  ilu*  Irnih  from  you,  1  fail  in  thi»  ohediciirj 
1  owe  the  kin<j^,  and  in  th(\fidelity  that  I  vowed 
lon^  since  to  Monseignour,  your  lather,  and  wliici| 
T  swear  anew  at  your  hands;  and  if  1  ohey,  as 
must,  his  Majesty's  orders  and  yours,  1  caniioj 
avoid  ji'iviuir  ol"l'enc(\  since  I  cannot  render  you  aj 
account  of  these  disorders  without  inforininjj:  yoj 
that  M.  do  Frontenac's  conduct  is  the  solo  cause oi 
them."  ' 

Frontenac  had  written  to  Soignelay  a  few  davj 
before  :  ''  1  have  no  dou])t  whatever  that  M.  Duj 
chesneau  will,  as  usual,  overwhelm  mo  with  fahricaj 
tions  and  falsehoods,  to  cover  his  own  ill  conduct 
I  send  proofs  to  justify  myself,  so  strong  aiiJ 
convincing  that  1  do  not  soo  that  they  can  Icavff 
any  doubt ;  but,  sinco  I  fear  that  their  groat  niimj 
ber  niii;"ht  fatii^uo  von,  I  have  thono-ht  it  better  tj 
send  them  to  my  wife,  with  a  full  and  exact  jour] 
nal  of  all  that  has  passed  hero  day  by  day,  in  orden 
that  she  may  extract  and  lay  before  you  the  priii] 
cipal  portions. 

"  I  send  you  in  person  merely  the  proofs  of  tliJ 
conduct  of  M.  Duchosneau,  in  barricading  liisj 
house  and  arming  all  his  servants,  and  in  coniiiii 
three  weeks  ago  to  insult  nie  in  my  room.  YoJ 
will  see  thereby  to  what  a  pitch  of  temerity  andj 

^  Dudusneau  au  Ministre,  13  Nov.,  1G81. 


16811 


KTin'KT   QITAimELR. 


r.3 


iliiwlcssTiosM  lie  liMM  Irnnspoftcd  lilm^olf,  in  order  to 
coiiijx'l  iiH*  fo  use  violence  ji<^^ninst  liini,  willi  the 
liopc  of  justifying  \Nli!it  lio  luis  nsnortcMl  about,  my 
pr(>l(Mi(le(l   onll)i'(\'ikM  of  ;nii:;er."  ' 

TIm^  imitiinl  clinrij^'es  of  tlio  two  fiincfionjirieM 
kv(>n»  much  (li(»  snmc  ;  and,  so  fjir  Jit,  Icjist  «m  con- 
(•(M'lis  trad(\  tlKM'c  can  Ix^  lifthi  doiiht,  that-  th(^y 
Kvcre  well  founded  on  holh  si(h»M.  Tlie  strife  of 
tho  rival  factions  <^rcw  mow.  and  more  bittor: 
nncs  and  sticks  ])layed  a!i  activt^  part  in  it,  and 
now  and  llien  w(^  h(»ar  of  di'awn  swords.  Ono  va 
iviiiindecl  at.  times  of  IIk^  intestine  fcMids  of  sotno 
iiuMli.eval  city,  as,  for  exanipU^,  in  th(»  followin*^-  in- 
cidnil,  which  will  (^xplain  the  (^har<^e  of  Frontenac 
ntrainst  the  intendant  of  barricadin<^  his  house  and 
tirminu:  liis  servants  :  — 

0;  tho  aft(M*noon  of  the  twentieth  of  March,  a 
Foii  of  Diichesneau,  sixteen  years  ohl,  followed  by 
a  servant  named  Vautier,  was  stronin<jj  along  the 
picket  fence  which  bordered  the  descent  from  the 
Upper  to  the  Lower  Town  of  Quebec.  The  boy  was 
amusing  himself  by  singing  a  song,  when  Fronte- 
nac's  partisan,  Boisseau,  witli  one  of  the  guardsmen, 
approached,  and,  as  young  Duchcsneau  declares, 
called  him  foul  names,  and  said  that  he  would  give 
liiin  and  his  father  thrashing.  The  boy  replied 
that  he  wouhl  have  nothing  to  say  to  a  fellow  like 
him,  and  would  beat  him  if  he  did  not  keep  quiet; 
while  the  servant,  Vautier,  retorted  Boisseau's 
abuse,  and  taunted  him  with  low  birth  and  dis- 
reputable employments.     Boisseau  made  report  to 

*  Fr.utenac  au  Almistre,  2  Nov.,  1681. 


64 


FRONTENAC  AND  DUCUFSNEAU. 


[1681 


FrontenaCj  and  J^rontericic  complained  to  Duclies-| 
ncau,  who  sent  his  son,  with  Vaiitier,  to  give  tliej 
governor  his  version  of  the  affair.     The   bishop, 
an   ally  of  the  intendant,  thus  relates  what  fol- 
lowed.     On  arriving  with  a  pr.rty  of   friends  at] 
the  chateau,  young  Duchesneau  was  shown  iuto| 
a  room  in  which  were  the  governor  and  his  cwo  sec- 
retaries, Barrois  and  Chasseur.     lie  had  no  sooner] 
entered  than  Frontenac  seized  him  by  the  arm, 
shook  him,  struck  him,  called  hir^i  ^.busive  names,! 
and  tore  the  sleeve  of  his  jacket.     The  secretaries 
interposed,   and,   failing   to    quiet   the    governor, 
opened  the  door  and  let  the  boy  escape.     Yautier. 
meanwhile,  had  remained  in  the  guard-room,  where  I 
Boisseau  struck  at  him  with  his  cane  j  and  one  of 
the   guardsmen  went   for  a  halberd  to  run   him 
through  the   body.      After  this  warm  reception, 
young  Duchesneau  and  his  servant  took  refuge  in 
the  house  of  his  father.    Frontenac  demanded  their 
surrender.     The  intendant,  fearing  that  he  would 
take  them  by  force,  for  which  he  is  said  to  have 
made  preparation,  barricaded  himself  and  armed 
his  household.     The  bishop  tried  to  mediate,  and 
after  protracted  negotiations   young   Duchesneau  I 
was  given  up,  whereupon  Frontenac  locked  him  in  i 
a  chamber  of  the  chateau,  and  kept  him  there  a  | 
month. ^ 

The  story  of  Frontenac's  violence  to  the  boy  is  | 
flatly  denied  by  his  friends,  who  charge  Duches- 


1  M^moire  de  I'Eresque  de  Quebec,  Mars,  1G81  (printed  in  Revue  Cava- 
dienne,  1873).  The  bishop  is  silent  about  the  barricades  of  which  Fron< 
tcnac  and  liis  friends  complain  in  s«»verai  letters. 


I«81.] 


THE   WAR  BECOMES  GENERAL. 


Go 


neaii  and  his  partisans  with  circulating  Ubels  against 
him,  nnrl  who  say,  like  Frontenac  himself,  that  the 
intcndant  used  ever}'  means  to  exasperate  him,  in 
order  to  make  material  for  accusations.' 

The  disputes  of  the  rival  factions  spread  through 
all  Canada.  The  most  heinous  offence  in  the  eyes 
of  the  court  with  whicn  each  chai'ged  the  other  was 
the  carrying  of  furs  to  the  English  settlements  ;  thus 
defrauding  the  revenue,  and,  as  the  king  believed, 
preparing  the  ruin  of  the  colony.  The  intendant 
farther  declared  that  the  governor's  party  spread 
among  the  Indians  the  report  of  a  pestilence  at 
Montreal,  in  order  to  deter  them  from  their 
yenrly  visit  to  the  fair,  and  thus  by  means  of 
\coureurs  de  hois  obtain  all  their  beaver  skins  at  a 
I  low  price.  The  report,  according  to  Duchesneau, 
had  no  other  foundation  than  the  fate  of  eighteen 
or  twenty  Indians,  wdio  had  lately  drunk  them- 
I selves  to  death  at  La  Chine. ^ 

Montreal,  in  the  mean  time,  was  the  scene  of  a 
Igort  of  by-play,  in  which  the  chief  actor  was  the 
local  governor,  Perrot.  He  and  Frontenac  appear 
to  have  found  it  for  their  common  interest  to  come 
to  a  mutual  understanding ;  and  this  was  perhaps 
easier  on  the  part  of  the  count,  since  his  quarrel 
vvith  Duchesneau  gave  sufficient  employment  to 
his  natural  pugnacity.  Perrot  was  now  left  to 
[make  a  reasonable  profit  from  the  illicit  trade 
Iwhich  had  once  kindled  the  wrath  of  his  superior ; 


'  See,  among  otlier  instancos,  tlie  Defense  de  M.  de  Frontenac  par  un 
ses  Amis,  published  by  Abbe'  Verreau  in  the  Revue  Cnnadienne,  1873. 
*  Plumitifdu  Conseil  ^outerain,  1081. 


66 


FRONTENAC  ANl)  DUCHESNEATJ. 


[1681 


1681.] 


It  ' 


and,  the  danger  of  Frontenac' s  anger  being  re- 
moved,  he  completely  forgot  the  lessons  of  his 
imprisonment. 

The  intendant  ordered  Migeon,  bailiff  of  Mon- 
treal, to  arrest  some  of  Perrot's  coiireurs  de  hois. 
Perrot  at  once  arrested  the  bailiff,  and  sent  a 
sergeant  and  two  soldiers  to  occupy  his  hoii?e, 
with  orders  to  annoy  the  family  as  much  as  pos- 
sible. One  of  them,  accordingly,  walked  to  and 
fro  all  night  in  the  bed-chamber  of  Migeon's  wife. 
On  another  occasion,  the  bailiff  invited  two  friends 
to  supper:  Le  Moyne  d'Iberville  and  one  Bouthier, 
agent  of  a  comuiercial  house  at  Rochelle.  The 
conversation  tuvned  on  the  trade  carried  on  bj 
Penot.  It  waf^j  overheard  and  reported  to  him. 
upon  which  he  suddenly  appeared  at  the  window, 
struck  Bouthier  over  the  head  with  his  cane,  then 
drew  his  sword,  and  chased  him  while  he  fled  for 
his  life.  The  seminary  was  near  at  hand,  and  the| 
fugitive  clambered  over  the  wall..  DoUier  de  Casson 
dressed  him  in  the  hat  and  cassock  of  a  priest,  and 
in  this  disguise  he  escaped.'  Perrot's  avidity  some-j 
times  carried  him  to  ^'ingular  extremities.  "He 
has  been  seen,"  says  one  of  his  accusers,  "filling 
barrels  of  brandy  with  his  own  hands,  and  mixing | 
it  with  water  to  sell  to  the  Indians.  He  bartered 
Avith  one  of  them  his  hat,  sword,  coat,  ribbons, 
shoes,  and  stockings,  and  boasted  that  he  had  made 
thirty  pistoles  by  the  bargain,  while  the  Indian 
walked  about  town  equipped  as  governor,"^ 

•  Condiiifpdu  Sipur  Prrrof,  Goiirenipw'  de  Montrfyl  on  la  NonreJIe  F'  .>nr(, 
1681  ;  Pliiiute  da  Sieur  Bouthier,  10  Oct.,  1680;  Proces-verbal  des  huissi(-Tt\ 
de  Montreal 

'  Condntte  dn  Sienr  Perrot.    La  Barre,  Frontenac's  successor,  clec'l'irp' 


1681.] 


THREATS  OF  THE  KING. 


67 


Every  ship  from   Canaria  brought  to  the  king 
Ifrosh  complaints   of   Duchesneau   against  Fronte- 
In.'ic.  niid  of  Frontenac  against  Diichesneaii ;   and 
Itlio  king  repKcd  with  relnikes,  exhortations,  and 
Itlireats  to  both.     At  first  he  had  shown  a  dispo- 
Igiiioii  to  extenuate  and  excuse  the  faults  of  Fron- 
tenac, but  every  year  his  letters   grew   sharper. 
[n  IGSl  he  wrote  :   "  Again  I  urge  you  to  banish 
from  your  mind  the  difhculties  which  you   have 
rourself    devised    against   the    execution    of    my 
)r(lers;  to  act  with  mildness  and  moderation  tow- 
irds  all  the  colonists,  and  divest  yourself  entii'el}'' 
)f  the  personal  animosities  which  have  thus  far 
)cen  almost  your  sole  motive  of  action.     Tn  Con- 
jhisioii,  I  exhort  you  once  more  to  profit  well  by 
the  directiuns  which   this  letter  contains ;    since, 
mless  you  succeed  better  herein  than  formerly,  I 
jannot  help  recalling  you  from  the  command  which 
have  intrusted  to  you."  ^ 

The  dispute  still  went  on.  The  autumr  ships 
from  Quebec  brought  back  the  usual  complaints, 
md  the  lonf2:-sufferInoc  kin<x  at  leno-th  made  o;ood 
lis  threat.  Both  Frontenac  and  Duchesneau  re- 
jeived  their  recall,  and  they  both  deserved  it.^ 

The  last  official  act  of  the  governor,  recorded  in 
he  register  of  the  council  of  Quebec,  is  the  formal 

lat  the  charges  against  Perrot  were  false,  including  the  attestations  ol 
limon  and  his  friends;  that  Dollicr  de  Casson  had  been  imposed  upon, 
[ivl  that  various  persons  had  been  induced  to  sign  unfounded  statements 
ritliout  rending  them.     Lft  liurm  an  Mlvistre,  4  Nov.,  168?. 

1  f.v  R(j:j  d  FronU-nac,  ?,0  Arrll,  1081. 

-  La  Barre  says  that  Duchesneau  was  far  more  to  blame  tli.tn  Fron- 
Bnac.  fji  Burre  nu  Miiiisfre,  1083.  This  testimony  has  weight,  since 
fr  -'tenac's  friends  were  La  Barre's  enemies 


68 


FRONTENAC  AND  DUCIIESN^AU. 


[1082 


declaration  that  his  rank  In  that  body  is  superior | 
to  that  of  the  intcndant.' 

The  key  to  nearly  all  these  disputes  lies  in  tliej 
relations  between  Frontenac  and  the  Cliurch.    Tlio 
fundamental    quarrel    was    generally    covered   by 
superficial  issues,  and  it  was  rarely  that  the  gov- 
ernor fell  out  with  anybody  Avho  was  not  in  league  I 
with  the  bishop  and  the  Jesuits.     "Nearly  all  the 
disorders  in  New  France,"  he  writes,  "spring  from  I 
the  ambition  of  the  ecclesiastics,  who  want  to  join 
to  their  spiritual  authority  an  absolute  power  over 
things  temporal,  and  who  persecute  all  who  do  not 
submit  entirely  to   them."     He   says  that  the  in- 
tendant  and  the  councillors  are  completely  under 
their   control,  and  dare  not  decide   any  question 
against  them;  that  they  have  spies  everywhere, 
even  in  his  house  ;  that  the  bishop  told  him  that 
he  could  excommunicate  even  a  governor,  if  lie| 
chose ;  that  the  missionaries  in  Indian  villao:es  sav 
that  they  are  equals  of  Onontio,  and  tell  their  con- 
verts that  all  will  go  wrong  till  the  priests  have  the  I 
government  of  Canada;  that  directly  or  indirectly 
they  meddle  in  all  civil  affairs;  that  they  trade  even 
with  the  English  of  New  York;  that,  what  with 
Jesuits,  Sulpitians,  the  bishop,  and  the  seminary  of 
Quebec,  they  hold  two-thirds  of  the  good  lands  of| 
Canada ;  that,  in  view  of  the  poverty  of  the  country, 
iheir  revenues  are  enormous;  that,  in  short,  their  I 
object  is  mastery,  and  that  they  use  all  means  to| 
compass  it.^     The  recall  of  the  governor  was  a  tri- 


1682.] 

umph  to  th 

recall  of  th< 

I  done  his  wo 

Thus  far, 

Igide.     We   1 

[very  d  iff  ere 

lyears  which 

jtempestuou.'; 

wholly  give 

)eno(ls  of  ui 

nnii.^tnition 

in  view  of 

respect  at  lei 

itness  for  h 

jqualled  or  fi 

'itli  Indians. 

khetic  relatic 

fonned   to    t 

lattered  thei 

^et  constantl 

})f  paternal  si 

lis  native  li[ 

Commanded 

^ould  not  a' 

\JiihIrcn  ;  aiK 

?ere,  accept* 

frontenac    \v 

Onontios.' 


"  IlMjutrerhi  Cr.nsrll  Sup^rlenr,  IG  /'Vr.,  lf,82. 
"•  Frontenac,   M^inoin    tidr'sse    a    CoUicrf,    1077. 


Til  is    remarkable 


Japor  will  be  foiui 
Aiii6-i''/i(e  ScpUnfi 
I  Miirgrv.     Tlie 

Id:-;  ;iii(i  other  p 
io  trade  of  the  Je 


1682.] 


QUALITIES  OF  FRONTENAC. 


69 


lurnph  to  the  ecclesiastics,  offset  but  slightly  by  the 
recall  of  their  instrument,  the  intendant,  who  had 
I  done  his  work,  and  whom  they  needed  no  longer. 
Thus  far,  we  have  seen  Frontenac  on  his  worst 

l^vlBgide.     We   shall   see   him  again   under  an   aspect 
very  different.     Nor  must  it  be  supposed  that  the 
lycars  which  had  passed  since  his  government  began, 
Itempestuous  as  they  appear  on  the  record,  were 
rliolly  given  over  to  quarrelling.    They  had  their 
)erio(ls  of  uneventful  calm,  when  the  wheels  of  ad- 
niiiii^tnition  ran  as  smoothly  as  could  be  expected 
\n  view  of  the  condition  of  the  colony.     In  one 
respect  at  least,  Frontenac  had  shown  a  remarkable 
itiiess  for  his  office.     Few  white  men  have  ever 
jqiialled  or  approached  him  in  the  art  of  dealing 
vitli  Indians.     There  seems  to  have  been  a  sympa- 
thetic relation  between  him  and  them.     He  con- 
formed  to    their   ways,  borrowed    their   rhetoric, 
iattered  them  on  occasion  with  great  address,  and 
ret  constantly  maintained  towards  them  an  attitude 
)f  paternal  superiority.  When  they  were  concerned, 
lis  native  haughtiness  always  took  a  form  which 
Commanded  respect  without  exciting  anger.     He 
roiild  not  address  them  as  brothers,  but  only  as 
\JdIdren  ;  and  even  the  Iroquois,  arrogant  as  they 
leve,  accepted  the  new  relation.     In  their  eyes 
i'rontenac    was   by   far    the    greatest   of    all    tin 

their B  Onontios,"   or  governors  of  Canada.     They  ad- 


[apcr  will  l)e  found  in  the  fMcoHvcrtns  et  JEldbh'sspmrnts  cJes  FnwQais  dans 

tAin^ri'ine   Scpt'Utrionale ;    M^moircs   et   Dociuaents   On'(/i)i(iiix,   edited    by 

Miirffry.     Tlie  paper  is  very  long,  and  contains  references  to  attesta- 

jo.  >  iind  other  proofs  wliich  accompanied   it,  especially  in  regard  t<i 

if  Irado  of  the  Jesuits. 


70 


FRONTENAC  A!  D   LUCHESNEAU. 


ll()8-^ 


mired  the  prompt  and  fiery  soldier  who  [)hiyo(] 
with  their  children,  and  gave  beads  and  trinkets  to 
their  wives  ;  who  read  their  secret  thoughts  and 
never  feared  them,  but  smiled  on  them  when  tlu'lr 
hearts  were  true,  or  frowned  and  threatened  Uuiiuj 
wdien  they  did  annss.  The  other  tribes,  allies  of 
the  French,  were  of  the  same  mind;  and  their  re- 
spect for  their  Great  Father  seems  not  to  have  been 
permanently  impaired  by  his  occasional  practice  of 
bullying  them  for  purposes  of  extortion. 

Frontenac  appears  to  have  had  a  liking  not  onlvl 
for  Indians,  but  also  for   that  roving  and  lawless 
class  of  the  Canadian  population,  the  coitrem's  dt\ 
hois,  provided  always   that  they  were  not  in  tlie 
serv'ce  of  his  rivi^l^.    Indeed,  as  regards  the  Caua 
dians  genej'ally,  he   refrained  from  the  stricture 
with  which  succeeding  governors  and  intendant!] 
freely  interlarded  their  despatches.     It  was  not  liiJ 
instinct  to  clash  with  the  humbler  classes,  and  lie 
generally  reserved  his  anger  for  those  who  coulilj 
retort  it.  • 

He  had  the  air  of  distinction  natural  to  a  iiiaiii 
familiar  all  his  life  with  the  society  of  courts,  ami 
he  was  as  gracious  and  winning  on  some  occasion^ 
as  he  was  unbearable  on  others.  When  in  i^mi 
humor,  his  ready  wit  and  a  certain  sympathetk] 
vivacity  made  him  very  agreeable.  At  times  hel 
was  all  sunshine,  and  his  outrage<:^us  temper  sliiinj 
bered  peacefidly  till  some  new  offence  wakened  ill 
again ;  nor  is  there  much  doubt  that  many  of  biji 
worst  outbreaks  were  the  Avork  of  his  enemies,  wliol 
knew  his  foible,  and  studied   to  exasperate  hiiiij 


1082 


dp:i'artuue  of  fkontenac. 


71 


lie  was  full  of  contmdlctlons ;  and,  intolerant  and 
implacable  as  lie  often  was,  there  were  intervals, 
even  in  his  bitterest  quarrels,  in  which  he  displayed 
ji  surprising  niodenition  iuid  patience.  By  fits  he 
could  be  magnanimous.  A  woman  once  brought 
bini  a  petition  in  burlescjue  verse.  Fix)ntenac 
wrote  a  jocose  answer.  The  woman,  to  ridicule 
him,  contrived  to  have  both  petition  and  answer 
slipped  among  the  papers  of  a  suit  pending  before 
the  council.  Frontenae  had  her  lined  a  few  francs, 
and  then  caused  the  money  to  be  given  to  her 
children.^ 

When  he  sailed  for  France,  it  was  a  day  of  re- 
ioicing  to  more  than  half  the  merchants  of  Canada, 
and.  excepting  the  Recollets,  to  all  the  priests ; 
but  he  left  behind  him  an  impression,  very  general 
among  the  people,  that,  if  danger  threatened  t/he 
colony.  Count  Frontenae  was  the  man  for  the 
hour. 

1  Note  by  Abbe  Verreau,  in  Journal  de  I' Instruction  Publique  (Canada) 
VIU.  127. 


1082.] 


CHAPTER  V. 

1682-1684. 

LE  FEBVllE  BE  LA  BARRE. 

His  Arrival  at  Quebec.  —  The  Great  Fire.  —  A  Coming  Storm.  - 
Iroquois  Policy.  —  The  Danger  imminent.  —  Indian  Allies  oj 
France.  —  Frontenac  and  the  Iroquois.  —  Roasts  or  La  Barke. 
His  Fast  Life.  —  IIis  Speculations.  —  He  takes  Alarm.  —  IIis 
Dealings  with  the  Iroquois.  —  IIis  Illegal  Trade.  —  IIis  Col. 

LEAGUE  denounces   IIIM.  —  FrUITS  OF  HIS    SCUEMES.  —  II18  AnGER 

AND  UI3  Fears. 

When  the  new  governor,  La  Barre,  and  the  new 
intendant,  Meules,  arrived  at  Quebec,  a  disinnl 
greeiing  waited  them.  All  the  Lower  Town  was 
in  ashes,  except  the  house  of  the  merchant  Aubert 
de  la  ChcLiiaye,  standing  alone  amid  the  wreck, 
On  a  Tuesday,  the  fourth  of  August,  at  ten  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  the  nuns  of  the  Hotel-Dieu  were 
roused  from  their  early  slumbers  by  shouts,  out- 
cries, and  the  ringing  of  bells ;  "  and,"  writes  one 
of  them,  "  what  was  our  terror  to  find  it  as  light 
as  noonday,  the  flames  burned  so  fiercely  and  rose 
so  high."  Half  an  hour  before,  Chartier  de  Lot- 
biniere,  judge  of  the  king's  court,  heard  the  first 
alarm,  ran  down  the  descent  now  called  Mountain 
Street,  and  found  every  thing  in  confusion  in  the 
town  below.  The  house  of  Etienne  Planchon  ^vas 
in  a  blaze ;  the  fire  was  spreading  to  those  of  his 


neighbors,  u 
Jto  the  store 
lexcessively  > 
jwater  exceji 
jwas  howilde 
Iwere   orderc 
louses ;    bu 
,ork.  and  a1 
)uildings  we 
ill  of  wood, 
illed  with  g( 
nore  in  valu 
Under  the 
Jarre  began 
lad  achieved 
the  West 
test  far  hk 
the  chateau 
lardly  find  a 
['own  were 
iiade  rootles 
Content  him.^ 
Auods.    IIer( 
idian  war  ar 
So  far  as 
ilarm  was  ik 
3olony  with 
those  who  h 
voe  lowered 

1  Chartier  de  I 
'ul>s  an  Ministre, 
2"^l'cc,  256. 
-  Meules  au  Min 


IC82.| 


THE  GREAT  FIRE. 


73 


tM.- 

ES  <ip 
AKKI, 
-Ills 

1  Coi.. 
lNGER 


new 

was 
bei't 
eck, 
lock 
l^ere 
out- 
one 
light 
ruse 
Lut- 
iirst 
it  11  in 
the 
was 
:  his 


Lei.rhbois,  and  liad  just  leaped  the  narrovv  street 

to  the  storchoLise  of  the  Jesuits.     The  season  was 

lexcessively  dry  ;  there  were  no  means  of  throwing 

Later  except  kettles  and  buckets,  and   the  crowd 

hvas  bewildered  with  excitement  and  fright.     Men 

Iweie   ordered    to    tear   off  roofs    ;ind   pull   down 

Ihouses ;    but  the   flauies   drove  them    from    their 

Lork,  and  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morniug  iifty-five 

)uihlings  were  burnt  to  the  ground.     They  were 

ill  of  wood,  but  many  of  them  were  storehouses 

piled  witli  goods ;  and  the  property  consumed  was 

nore  in  value  than  all  that  remained  in  Canada.^ 

Under  these  gloomy  auspices,  Le  Febvre  de  la 
Jane  began  his  reign.  He  was  an  old  officer  who 
lad  achieved  notable  exploits  against  the  English 
in  the  West  Indies,  but  who  w^as  now  to  be  put  to 
test  far  more  severe.  He  made  his  lodging  in 
the  chateau ;  wdiile  his  colleague,  Meules,  could 
lai'dly  find  a  shelter.  The  buildings  of  the  Upper 
L'own  were  fdled  with  those  whom  the  lire  had 
Qiade  roofless,  and  the  intendant  was  obliged  to 
content  himself  with  a  house  in  the  neighboring 
^•uo(l8.  Here  he  was  ill  at  ease,  for  he  dreaded  an 
pdian  war  and  the  scalp ing-knives  of  the  Iroquois.^ 
So  far  as  his  own  safety  was  concerned,  his 
ilarm  w\as  needless ;  but  not  so  as  regarded  the 
jolony  with  whose  affairs  he  was  charged.  For 
those  Avho  had  eyes  to  see  it,  a  terror  and  a 
f^'oe  lowered  in  the  future  of  Canada.     In  an  evil 

1  Cliartier  de  Lotbinibre,  Proces-verhal  sur  I'Incendie  de  la  Basse  Ville  ; 
mhsan  Ministre,  (j  Oct.,  1682;  Juchereau,  Histoire  de  VIldtel-LHeu  de 
lidec,  256. 
-  Meules  au  Ministre,  6  Oct.,  1682. 


u 


LE  FEBVIIE  1)E  LA  BAUHE. 


[1080^  I 


N 


hour  for  her,   the  Iroquois  had   couquered   tlieif 
southeru  neighbors,   the   Andustes,  who  had  loiJ 
hold  tht'ir  ground  against  thcni,  and  at  one  tiiJ 
threatened   them   with    ruin.      The   hands  oi'  tlj 
confederates  were  now^  free;  their  arroganee  wij 
redoubled    by    victory,    and,  having   long    befuij 
destroyed   all    the    adja(u;nt   tribes  on    the    nuiti 
and   west,*  they  looked  for  fresh  victims  in  tU 
wilderness   beyond.       Their    most   easterly    tilljt 
the    Mohawks,    had    not    forgotten    the     ehasty 
ment  they  had   received  from    Tracy   and    Couii 
celle.     They  had  learned  to  fear  the  French,  uikI 
were  cautious  in  offending  them ;  but  it  Avas  iio;[ 
so  with  the  remoter  Iroquois.     Of  these,  the  »Seii| 
ecas  at  the  western  end  of  the  "  Long  House,' 
as  they  called  their  fivefold  league,  were  by  fail 
the  most  powerful,  for  they  could  muster  as  niamj 
warriors   as    all    the    four    remaining    tribes    tol 
getlier;  ai:id    they  now  sought  to  draw  the  cod] 
federacy  into  a  series  of  wars,  which,  though  noil 
directed  against  the  French,   threatened  soon  tj 
involve  them.      Their   first   movement  westwarc 
was  against  the  tribes  of  the  Illinois.     I  have  alJ 
ready  described  their  bloody  inroad  in  the  suniiiie!| 
of  1680.^     They  made  the  valley  of  the  Illinois i 
desert,  and  returned  with  several  hundred  prisoiij 
ers,  of  whom  they  burned  those  that  were  uselefi| 
and  incorporated  the  young  and  strong  into  tbeii 
own  tribe. 

This  movement  of  the  western  Iroquois  had  J 
double  incentive,  their  love  of  fighting  and  tliei| 

1  Jesuits  in  North  America.        '^  Discovery  of  the  Great  West. 


1(380-82.] 


IROQUOIS  POLICY. 


75 


love  of  gain.  It  was  a  war  of  conquest  and  c^ 
trade.  All  the  live  tribes  of  the  league  had  be- 
come dependent  on  the  English  and  Duleh  of 
Albany  for  guns,  powder,  lead,  brandy,  and  many 
otlier  things  that  they  had  learned  to  regard  as 
iieces.^ities.  Beaver  skins  alone  could  buy  them, 
but  to  the  Iroquois  the  sup[)ly  of  beaver  skins  was 
limited.  The  regions  of  the  west  and  north-west,  the 
upper  ^li.ssissippi  with  its  tributaries,  and,  above 
all,  the  forests  of  the  up[)er  lakes,  were  occu])ied  by 
tiibe.s  hi  the  interest  of  the  French,  whose  mission- 
aries and  explorers  had  been  the  first  to  visit  ibem, 
and  whose  traders  controlled  their  immense  armual 
pmdiiet  of  furs.  La  Salle,  by  his  newly  built  fort 
of  St.  Louis,  engro.ssed  the  trade  of  the  Illinois 
and  Miami  tribes ;  while  the  Ilurons  and  Ottawas, 
gathered  about  the  old  mission  of  Michillimackinac, 
acted  as  factors  for  the  Sioux,  the  Winnebagoes, 
and  many  other  remote  hordes.  Every  summer 
tliov  brouiirht  down  their  accumulated  beaver  skins 
to  the  fair  at  Montreal ;  while  French  bush-rangers 
roving  through  the  wilderness,  with  or  without 
licenses,  collected  many  more.' 

It  was  the  purpose  of  the  Iroquois  to  master  all 
this  traflic,  conquer  the  tribes  who  had  possession 
of  it,  and  divert  the  entire  supply  of  furs  to  them- 
selves, and  through  themselves  to  the  English  and 
Dutch.  That  English  and  Dutch  traders  urged 
them  on  is  affirmed  by  the  French,  and  is  very 
likely.     The  accomplishment  of  the  scheme  would 


^  Duchesneau,  Memoir  on  Western  Indians  in  N.  Y.  Colonial  Docs.,  IX 


m 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

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76 


LE  FEBVRE  DE  LA  BARRE. 


[168(Ma 


11^ 


I  I 


have  ruined  Canada.  Moreover,  the  Illinois,  the 
Hurons,  the  Ottawas,  and  all  the  other  tribe? 
threatened  by  the  Iroquois,  were  the  allies  jukI 
"  children  "  of  the  French,  who  in  honor  as  in  in- 
terest were  bound  to  protect  them.  Hence,  wher 
the  Seneca  invasion  of  the  Illinois  became  known, 
there  was  deep  anxiety  in  the  colony,  except 
only  among  those  in  whom  hatred  of  the  monop- 
olist La  Salle  had  overborne  every  consideration 
of  the  public  good.  La  Salle's  new  establishment 
of  St.  Louis  was  in  the  path  of  the  invaders; 
and,  if  he  could  be  crushed,  there  was  where- 
with to  console  his  enemies  for  all  else  that  might 
ensue. 

Bad  as  was  the  posture  of  affairs,  it  was  made 
far  worse  by  an  incident  that  took  place  soon  after 
the  invasion  of  the  Illinois.  A  Seneca  chief  en- 
gaged in  it,  who  had  left  the  main  body  of  his 
countrymen,  was  captured  by  a  party  of  Winne- 
bagoes  to  serve  as  a  hostage  for  some  of  their 
tribe  whom  the  Senecas  had  lately  seized.  They 
carried  him  to  Michillimackinac,  where  there 
chanced  to  be  a  number  of  Illinois,  married  to 
Indian  women  of  that  neighborhood.  A  quarrel 
ensued  between  them  and  the  Seneca,  whom  tliev 
stabbed  to  death  in  a  lodge  of  the  Kiskakons,  one 
of  the  tribes  of  the  Ottawas.  Here  was  a  casus  belli 
likely  to  precipitate  a  war  fatal  to  all  the  tribes 
about  Michillimackinac,  and  equally  fatal  to  the 
trade  of  Canada.  Frontenac  set  himself  to  conjure 
the  rising  storm,  and  sent  a  messenger  to  the  Iro- 
quois  to  invite  them  to  a  conference. 


lObO-W.] 


THE   INDLVN   ALLIES. 


77 


He  found  them  unusually  arrogant.     Instead  of 

I  coming  to  him,  they  demanded  that  he  should  come 

jto  them,  and  many  of  the  French  wished  him  to 

j comply;   but  Frontenac   refused,  on  the  ground 

that  sucli  a  concession  would  add  to  their  insolence, 

and  he  declined  to  go  farther  than  Montreal,  or  at 

the  utmost   Fort   Frontenac,  the    usual    place  of 

meeting  with  them.     Early  in  August  he  was  at 

Montreal,  expecting  the  arrival  of  the  Ottawas  and 

Hurons  on  their  yearly  descent  from  the  lakes. 

They  soon   appeared,  and   he  called    them   to  a 

Bolemn    council.      Terror   had    seized    them    all. 

r' Father,  take  pity  on  us,"  said  the  Ottawa  orator, 

rfor  we  are  like  dead  men."      A  Huron  chief, 

named  the  Rat,  declared  that  the  world  was  turned 

upside  down,  and  implored  the  protection  of  Onon- 

tio, "  who  is  master  of  the  whole  earth."     These 

tribes  were  far  from  harmony  among  themselves. 

lEach  was  jealous  of  the  other,  and  the  Ottawas 

[charged  the  Hurons  with  trying  to  make  favor  with 

Ithe  common  enemy  at  their  expense.     Frontenac 

Itold  them  that  they  were  all  his  children  alike,  and 

[advised  them   to   live  together  as   brothers,  and 

make  treaties  of  alliance  with  all  the  tribes  of  the 

[lakes.    At  the  same  time,  he  urged  them  to  make 

Ifull  atonement  for  the  death  of  the  Seneca  mur- 

Idered  in  their  country,  and  carefully  to  refrain 

[from  any  new  offence. 

Soon  after  there  was  another  arrival.  La  Foret, 
[the  officer  in  command  at  Fort  Frontenac,  appeared, 
[bringing  with  him  a  famous  Iroquois  chief  called 
[Decanisora  or  Tegannisorens,  attended  by  a  num- 


78 


LE  FEBVRE  DE  LA  BARRE. 


[lG80-SiH]682.] 


ber  of  warriors.     They  came  to  invite  Frontenac 
to  meet  the  deputies  of  the  five  tribes  at  Oswego, 
within  their  own  limits.     Frontenac's   reply  wa.^ 
characteristic.     "It  is  for  the  father  to   tell  the 
children  where  to  hold  council,  not  for  the  cliil-j 
drcn  to  tell  the  father.     Fort  Frontenac  is  thej 
proper  place,  and  you  should  thank  me  for  going 
so  far  every  summer  to  meet  you."     The  Iroquois 
had  expressed  pacific  intentions  towards  the  Huron? 
and  Ottawas.    For  this  Frontenac  commended  hiinj 
but  added  :  "  The  Illinois  also  are  children  of  Onon- 
tio,  and  hence  brethren  of  tlie  Iroquois.     There- 
fore they,  too,  should  be  left  in  peace ;  for  Onontiol 
wishes  that  all  his  family  should  live  together  in 
union."     He  confirmed  his  words  with  a  huge  belt 
of  wampum.     Then,  addressing  the  flattered  deputy 
as  a  great  chief,  he  desired  him  to  use  his  influence 
in  behalf  of  peace,  and  gave  him  a  jacket  and  a 
silk  cravat,  both  trimmed  with  gold,  a  hat,  a  scarlet 
ribbon,  and  a  gun,  with  beads  for  his  wife,  and  red 
cloth  for  his  daughter.     The  Iroquois  went  home| 
delighted.^ 

Perhaps  on  this  occasion  Frontenac  was  too  con- 
fident of  his  influence  over  the  savage  confederates,! 
Such  at  least  was  the  opinion  of  Lamberville,  Jesuit  I 
missionary  at  Onondaga,  the  Iroquois  capital.  From 
what  he  daily  saw  around  him,  he  thought  the  peril 
so  imminent  that  concession  on  the  part  of  the 
French  was  absolutely  necessary,  since  not  only 
the  Illinois,  but  some  of  the  tribes  of  the  lakes,  were| 
»n   danger   of    speedy  and   complete  destruction 

I  For  the  papers  on  tliis  affair,  see  N.  Y.  Colonial  Docs.,  IX. 


1 1682.] 


HIS  BOASTS. 


79 


l^'Tei^nnnisorens  loves  the  French,'*  he  wrote  to 
iFrontcnnc,  "  but  neither  he  nor  any  other  of  the 
upper  Iroquois  fear  them  in  the  least.  They  anni- 
kilnte  our  allies,  whom  by  adoption  of  prisoners 
they  convert  into  Iroquois;  and  they  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  avow  that  after  enriching  themselves  by  our 
plunder,  and  strengthening  themselves  by  those 
hvho  might  have  aided  us,  they  will  pounce  all  at 
once  upon  Canada,  and  overwhelm  it  in  a  single 
campaign."  He  adds  that  within  the  past  two 
lyoars  they  have  reinforced  themselves  by  more 
Ithan  nine  hundred  warriors,  adopted  into  their 
Itribes.* 

Such  was  the  crisis  when  Frontenac  left  Canada 
it  the  moment  when  he  was  needed  most,  and 
|Lc  Fcbvre  de  la  Barre  came  to  supplant  him.  The 
lew  governor  introduces  himself  with  a  burst  of 
rhofl  onion  tad  e.  "  The  Iroquois,"  he  writes  to  the 
dng, ''  have  twenty-six  hundred  warriors.  I  will 
ittack  them  with  twelve  hundred  men.  They 
mow  me  before  seeing  me,  for  they  have  been 
told  by  the  English  how  roughly  I  handled  them 
in  the  West  Indies."  This  bold  note  closes  rather 
tamely ;  for  the  governor  adds,  "  I  think  that  if  the 
[roquois  believe  that  your  Majesty  would  have  the 
goodness  to  give  me  some  help,  they  will  make 
)eace,  and  let  our  allies  alone,  which  would  save 
the  trouble  and  expense  of  an  arduous  war."  ^  He 
then  begs  hard  for  troops,  and  in  fact  there  was 
jreat  need  of  them,  for  there  were  none  in  Canada ; 

1  p.  Jean  de  Lamberville  a  Frontenac^  20  Sept.,  1682. 
*  La  Barre  an  Roy,  (4  Oct.  ?)  1682. 


;i 


80 


LE  FEBVRE  DE  LA   BARUE. 


[1081 


1 


and  even  Frontenac  had  been  compelled  in  the  last 
year  of  his  government  to  leave  unpunished  varioiu 
acts  of  violence  and  plunder  conmiitted  by  th? 
Iroquois.  La  Barre  painted  the  situation  in  it; 
blackest  colors,  declared  that  war  was  imminent 
and  wrote  to  the  minister,  "  We  shall  lose  half  our 
trade  and  all  our  reputation,  if  we  do  not  opposd 
these  haughty  conquerors."  * 

A  vein  of  gasconade  appears  in  most  of  his  let- 
ters,  not  however  accompanied  with  any  conclusive 
evidence  of  a  real  wish  to  fight.  His  best  fighting 
days  w^ere  past,  for  he  was  sixty  years  old  ;  nor 
had  he  always  been  a  man  of  the  sword.  His  early 
life  was  spent  in  the  law  ;  he  had  held  a  judicial 
post,  and  had  been  intend  ant  of  several  Frencli 
provinces.  Even  the  military  and  naval  employ 
ments,  in  which  he  afterw^ards  acquitted  himself 
with  credit,  were  due  to  the  part  he  took  in  form- 
ing a  joint-stock  company  for  colonizing  Cayenne,' 
In  fact,  he  was  but  half  a  soldier ;  and  it  was  per- 
haps for  this  reason  that  he  insisted  on  being  called, 
not  Monsieur  le  Goimernem\  but  Monsieur  U 
General.  He  was  equal  to  Frontenac  neither  in 
vigor  nor  in  rank,  but  he  far  surpassed  him  ia 
avidity.  Soon  after  his  arrival,  he  wrote  to  the 
minister  that  he  should  not  follow  the  example  of 


-■  I- 


1  La  Barre  a  Seirjnelay,  1682. 

2  He  was  made  governor  of  Cayenne,  and  went  thither  with  Tracyiii| 
1664.  Two  years  later,  he  gained  several  victories  over  the  Englisli 
and  recaptured  Cayenne,  which  they  liad  taken  in  his  absence.  Hel 
wiote  a  book  concerning  this  colony,  called  Description  de  la  FramX 
Eqninoctiale.  Another  volume,  called  Journal  du  Voyage  da  Sienr  de  111 
Barrp  en  la  Terre  Ferme  et  Isle  de  Cayenne,  was  printed  at  Paris  in  16"ll 


1682.] 


HIS  SPECULATIONS. 


81 


his  prcclccessors  in  making  money  out  of  his  gov- 
ernment by  trade ;  and  in  consideration  of  these 
good  intentions  he  asked  for  an  addition  to  his 
pay.'  He  then  immediately  made  alliances  with 
cert.'iin  merchants  of  Quebec  for  carrying  on  an 
extenf^ive  illicit  trade,  backed  by  all  the  power  of 
his  olfice.  Now  ensued  a  strange  and  miserable  com- 
plication. Questions  of  war  mingled  with  ques- 
tions of  personal  gain.  There  was  a  commercial 
revolution  in  the  colony.  The  merchants  whom 
Frontcnac  excluded  from  his  ring  now  had  their 
turn.  It  was  they  w^lio,  jointly  with  the  intendant 
and  tlie  ecclesiastics,  had  procured  the  removal  of 
the  old  governor ;  and  it  was  they  who  gained  the 
ear  of  the  new  one.  Aubert  de  la  Chesnaye, 
Jacques  Le  Ber,  and  the  rest  of  their  faction,  now 
basked  in  official  favor;  and  La  Salle,  La  Foret, 
and  the  other  friends  of  Fronienac,  were  cast  out. 
There  was  one  exception.  Greysolon  Du  Lhut, 
leader  oi  coureurs  de  hois,  was  too  important  to  be 
thus  set  aside.  He  was  now  as  usual  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  the  north,  the  roving  chief  of  a  half  sav- 
age crew,  trading,  exploring,  fighting,  and  laboring 
with  persistent  hardihood  to  foil  the  rival  English 
traders  of  Hudson's  Bay.  Inducements  to  gain  his 
[adhesion  were  probably  held  out  to  him  by  La 
jr>arre  and  his  allies  :  be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  certain 
that  he  acted  in  harmony  with  the  faction  of  the 
new  governor.  With  La  Foret  it  was  widely  dif- 
ferent. He  commanded  Fort  Frontenac,  which 
belonged  to  La  Salle,  when  La  Barrels  associates, 


*  La  Barre  a  Selgnelay,  1682. 
6 


82 


LK  FKIIVHK   1)K   LA    BAllHR. 


[1^82 


Tja  Cliosn.'iyo  nnd  J^o  T^cr,  nrrnod  wifli  nn  onlcr 
from  flic  ;i;<)V(M'n()r,  cjunc  up  from  Moiilrofil,  und 
seized  upon  <lie  plnxM*  wllli  nil  flint  if  ronfnincfl. 
TIk^  prcfcxi  for  fliis  onfrn^!;*'  wjis  flio  fnlH(»  one  Hint 
h\\  SmIIc  Imd  nof  fnlfillcd  fli(»  roiidiliotis  under 
which  fhc  foif  h.'»d  hoon  ;^r;inf(Ml  fo  him.  \a\  Font 
WMS  fold  fh.if,  h(»  ]ni<i;hf  rcfnin  his  cofiniumd,  if  lie 
would  join  fh(^  f.'icfion  of  Tai  I^nrro  ,  hut,  h(»  refused, 
flfood  f ru(^  fo  his  (diiof,  and  soon  after  sailed  for 
Frnnce. 

La  ll'irre  summoned  the  most  aide  and  expori- 
cneed  ])(M'sons  in  the  colony  to  discuss  the  sta,tc  of 
affjiirs.  '['h(Mr  conclusion  wns  that  the  IroqnoiH 
would  attack  and  destroy  Hie  Illinois,  and,  fliif 
accom] dished,  turn  npon  the  trihes  of  the  Inkes, 
conquer  or  destroy  them  nlso,  jind  ruin  the  trnde 
of  ('Unada.'  Dnrk  ns  w/is  the  prospect,  La  Biirre 
and  his  fellow-specnlators  flattered  themselves  flint 
tlie  wjir  could  bo  averted  for  a  year  at  lenst, 
The  Iroquois  owed  their  triumphs  as  much  to 
their  sM«2;acity  and  craft  as  to  their  extraordinnry 
boldness  and  ferocity.  It  had  always  been  their 
policy  to  attack  vheir  enemies  in  detail,  and  while 
destroy in<j!;  one  to  cajole  the  rest.  There  seeinod 
little  douht  that  they  would  leave  the  tribes  of  the 
lakes  in  peiice  till  they  had  finished  the  ruin  of  the 
Illinois  ;  so  that  if  these,  the  allies  of  the  colony, 
were  abandoned  to  their  fate,  there  wovdd  be  time 
for  a  profitable  trade  in  the  direction  of  Micliilli- 
mackinac. 


*  Confcrpnr.e  on  the  State  of  Avoirs  with  the  Iroquois,  Oct.,  1682,  in  | 
N.Y.  Colonial  Docs.,  IX.  \di.' 


]m 


IlK  'lAKKS   ALA  KM. 


83 


r,iil  liojx'H  sccincfl  vjiln  jmhI  |»rf);^rioslics  illusory, 
ulic".  •'iiily  in  sprin;;;,  n  rc'porl.  c'lmc  flinl  flic; 
<s(Mir(';i  li'(K|iioiM  were  prcpMriii^^  lo  jittnck,  in  forco, 
not  only  IIh'  Illinois,  hul.  flic  lliirons  jind  OIIjiwjim 
of  flic  l;ik<'M.  Fiii  U.'irrc  jiinl  his  conlVdrnilcs  were 
in  (lisiiiMV.  'I'lu'y  Jilrcs'idy  Ii;mI  liir^c  (jiuinfiticM  of 
.roods  id  Miclnllimnckinjic,  llic  point,  iniuKMlijilcly 
tlirc.'ifcMcd  ;  and  an  olliccr  WJis  luislily  dcspMiclK^I, 
Avidi  men  and  njnnilions,  <o  slr('n;i;lli(Mi  IIk^  do- 
fcnccs  of  IIh^  pl;i(U'.'  A  snuill  vessel  wns  sent  to 
Frniice  wilh  loliers  l)ef!;<^in^  for  troops.  "  I  will 
jwrisli  nt  tlioir  liejul,"  wrote  Lsi,  Harre  to  the;  kinjr, 
'•or  destroy  your  etiennes ; " '-^  and  Ik^  assnres 
Mlic  iiilnisfer  thai  tlie  Seneens  mnst,  ho  atineked  or 
tlio  coiinlry  nhjuidoned.^  The  intcndaiit,  Monies, 
FJiiircdsoinelhinj^of  his  alarm,  and  informed  Ihekin^ 
tliiit  "  llif  IrcMjuois  Mre  (he  oidy  people  on  earth 
|av1i()  do  not  know  the  gnmd(Mir  of  yonr  Mnjcsty." '• 
While  thus  a])pealin<z;  to  tlie  kin<^,  La  I>arro  sent 
iCIiMrles  Ic  MoyTHNis  envoy  lo  Onondjiga.  Throu<^li 
|liis  iulhumee,  a  depnlntion  of  forty-three  IrocjuoiH 

liicfs  was  scuit  to  meet  the  j^overnor  nt  Montreal. 
[Icre  a  grand  council  was  held   in   the  newdy  built 

liurcli.     Presents  were  given   the  deputies  to  the 

gallic  of  more  than  two  thousand  crowns.  Sooth- 
|ii^^  sp(»eches  wore    made    them ;   and    they  wore 

irij^ed  not  to  attack  the  tribes  of  the  lakes,  nor 
fo  plunder    French    traders,  without  permission.^ 

*  [m  finrrr  an  Mitiiafrr,  4  Nov.,  1088. 
2  La  lUtrrp.  mi  lioij,  80  i}t>n',  1083. 

*  ht  Ihirrc  an  Minisfre,  30  Mat,  1083.  •♦ 

*  Mfulfis  an  Roif,  2  ./«/»,  1083. 

*  Soon  after  La  Barre's  arrival,  La  Chesnaye  is  paid  to  have  induced 


s. 


84 


LE   FEUVHK   I)E  LA   BARKE. 


[mi 


1 1 

1 


Thej  nssented ;  and  La  Barre  then  asked,  timidly, 
wliy  they  made  war  on  tlie  Illinois.  "  Because  thej 
deserve  to  die,"  haughtilj^  returned  the  Iroquois 
orator.  La  Barre  dared  not  answer.  They  corn- 
plained  that  La  Salle  had  given  guns,  powder,  und 
lead  to  the  Illinois  ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  he  had 
helped  the  allies  of  the  colony  to  defend  them- 
selves. La  Barre,  who  hated  La  Salle  and  bis 
monopolies,  assured  them  that  he  should  be  pun- 
ished.' It  is  aflirmed,  on  good  authority,  that  lie 
said  more  than  this,  and  told  them  they  were  wel- 
come to  plunder  and  kill  him.^  The  rapacious  old 
man  was  playing  with  a  tw^o-edged  sw^ord. 

Thus  the  Illinois,  with  the  few  Frenchmen  who 
had  tried  to  defend  them,  were  left  to  perish; 
and,  in  return,  a  brief  and  doubtful  respite  \m 
gained  for  the  tribes  of  the  lakes.  La  Barre  and 
his  confederates  took  heart  again.  Merchandise, 
in  abundance,  was  sent  to  Michillimackinac,  and 
thence  to  the  remoter  tribes  of  the  north  and 
west.  The  governor  and  his  partner.  La  Clie^ 
naye,  sent   up  a  fleet  of  thirty  canoes ; '  and,  a 

him  to  urge  the  Iroquois  to  plunder  all  traders  who  were  not  pravideil| 
with  jmssports  from  the  governor.  Tlie  Iroquois  complied  so  proinptlji 
that  they  stopped  and  pillaged,  at  Niagara,  two  canoes  belonging  to  Lil 
Chesnaye  himself,  which  had  gone  up  the  lakes  in  Frontenac's  timej 
and  tlu'refore  were  without  passports.  Recue.il  de  ce  (jui  s'est  passinl 
Canada  an  Siijet.  de  la  Guerre,  etc.,  depuis  I'annee  1682.  (Published  by  thtl 
Historical  Society  of  Quebec.)  This  was  not  the  only  case  in  which  tl»| 
weapons  of  La  Barre  and  his  partisans  recoiled  against  themselves. 

^  Belmont,  Histoiredu  Canada  (a  contemporary  chronicle). 

2  See  Discovery  of  the  Great  West.  La  Barre  denies  the  assertion! 
and  says  that  he  merely  told  the  Iroquois  that  La  Salle  should  be  8eiii| 
home. 

*  M^moire  adress^  a  MM.  les  ftit^ressA  en  la  SociA^  de  la  Ferrtt^ 
Commerce  di  Canada,  1683. 


.08.1) 


MEULKS  DENOUNCES   HIM. 


85 


little  later,  they  are  reported  to  have  sent  more 
than  a  Iiiindred.  This  forest  trade  robbed  the 
colonists,  by  forestallin<^  the  annual  market  of 
Montreal ;  while  a  considerable  part  of  the  furs 
ncquired  by  it  were  secretly  sent  to  the  English 
and  Dutch  of  New  York.  Thus  the  heavy  duties 
I  of  the  custom-house  at  Quebec  were  evaded;  and 
pilvcr  coin  was  received  in  payment,  instead  of 
questionable  bills  of  exchange.^  Frontenac  h  d 
mot  been  faithful  to  his  trust ;  but,  compared  to  his 
Isuccessor,  he  was  a  model  of  odieial  virtue. 

La  Barre  busied  himself  with  ostentatious  prepa- 

Iration  for  war;  built  vessels  at  Fort  Frontenac, 

ind  sent  up  fleets  of  canoes,  laden  or  partly  laden 

vith  nmnitions.     But  his   accusers   say  that   the 

[ing's  canoes  were  used  to  transport  the  governor's 

^oods,  and   that  the  men  sent  to  garrison  Fort 

^'ontenac  were  destined,  not  to  fight  the  Iroquois, 

nit  to  sell  them  brandy.     "  Last  year,"  writes  the 

itendant,  "  Monsieur  de  la  Barre   had  a  vessel 

milt,  for  which  he  made  his  Majesty  pay  heavily ; " 

id  he  proceeds  to  say  that  it  was  built  for  trade, 

id  was   used   for  no  other   purpose.     "  If,"  he 

)ntinues,  "  the  two  {king's)  vessels  now  at  Fort 

["rontenac    had  not  been   used  for  trading,  they 

rould  have  saved  us  half  the  expense  we  have 

jen  forced    to   incur  in    transporting   munitions 

id  supplies.     The  pretended  necessity  of  having 

jssels  at  this  fort,  and  the  consequent  employing 

^  These  statements  are  made  in  a  memorial  of  the  agents  of  the 
Btotn  liouse,  in  letters  of  Meules,  and  in  several  other  quarters.  La 
irre  is  accused  of  sending  furs  to  Albany  under  pretext  of  ofScial 

imunic-ation  with  the  governor  of  New  York. 


86 


LK  FEBVUE   DE   LA   BAHUE. 


Ii0b;;-6i 


I 


of  carpenters,  and  sendlii*,^  up  of  iron,  cordngc, 
sails,  and  many  other  things,  at  his  Majesty',^ 
char<,a»,  was  simply  in  the  view  of  eanyinu;  on 
trade."  He  says,  farther,  that  in  May  last,  tin.' 
vessels,  eanocs,  and  men  heing-  neaily  all  a])seiU  oiii 
this  errand,  the  fort  was  left  in  so  dtd'enceless  a 
state  that  a  party  of  Seneeas,  returning  from  their 
winter  hunt,  took  from  it  a  quantity  of  goods,  jiuii 
drank  as  much  hrandy  as  they  wanted.  'Mn 
short,"  he  concludes,  "  it  is  plain  that  Monsieur  di 
la  Barre  uses  this  fort  only  as  a  de^Dot  for  the  tiude] 
of  Lake  Ontario."  * 

In  the  spring  of  1G83,  La  Barre  had  taken  ai 
step  as  rash  as  it  was  lawless  and  unjust.  He  .stii 
the  Chevalier  de  Baugis,  lieutenant  of  his  guaix 
with  a  considerable  number  of  canoes  and  men,  t 
seize  La  Salle's  fort  of  St.  Louis  on  the  river  Hlinui\| 
a  measure  which,  while  gratifying  the  passiuaj 
and  the  greed  of  himself  and  his  allies,  woiill 
greatly  increase  the  danger  of  rupture  with  thJ 
Iroquois.  Late  in  the  season,  he  despatched  seve| 
canoes  and  fourteen  men,  with  goods  to  the  valt 
of  fifteen  or  sixteen  thousand  livres,  to  trade  ^viii| 
the  tribes  of  the  Mississippi.  As  he  had  sown, 
he  reaped.  The  seven  canoes  passed  through  tlij 
country  of  the  Illinois.  A  large  war  party 
Seneeas  and  Cayugas  invaded  it  in  Febriiaii 
La  Barre  had  told  their  chiefs  that  they  were  m 
come  to  plunder  the  canoes  of  La  Salle.  Tli 
Iroquois  were  not  discriminating.     They  fell  upa 


1  Meules  a  Seignelay,  8  Julij,  1684.     This  accords  perfectly  with  stJ 
ments  made  in  several  memorials  of  La  Salle  and  his  friends. 


IM\ 


1II8  ancji:r  and  his  teaus. 


87 


the  governor's  canoes,  seized  all  the  goods,  and 
captured  tl'o  men.'  Then  they  attacked  15augis 
at  Fort  St.  Lonis.  The  [)hiee,  i)erched  on  a  rock, 
>viLs strong,  and  they  were  beaten  oil';  but  the  act 
>vas  one  of  open  war. 

When  La  IJarre  heard  the  news,  he  was  finious.' 
Ho  trembled  for  the  vast  amount  of  goods  which 
he  and  liis  fellow-specuhitors  had  sent  to  Michilli- 
luackinac  an(]  the  lakes.  There  was  but  one  re- 
.soiirce  :  to  call  out  the  militia,  muster  the  Indian 
allie>,  advance  to  Lake  Ontario,  and  dictate  peace 
to  the  Senecas,  at  the  head  of  an  ini[)osing  force  ; 
or,  failing  in  this,  to  attack  and  crush  them.  A 
small  vessel  lying  at  Quebec  was  despatched  to 
France,  with  urgent  a[)peals  for  immediate  aid, 
though  there  was  little  hope  that  it  could  arrive 
in  time.  She  bore  a  long  letter,  half  piteous,  half 
bombastic,  from  La  Barre  to  the  king.  He  de- 
clared that  extreme  necessity  and  the  despair  of 
the  people  had  forced  him  into  war,  and  protested 
that  he  should  always  think  it  a  privilege  to  lay 
down  life  for  his  Majesty.  "  I  cannot  refuse  to 
your  country  of  Canada,  and  your  faithful  sub- 
jects, to  throw  myself,  with  unequal  forces,  against 

^  There  appears  no  doubt  that  La  Barre  brought  tliis  upon  himself. 
His  successor,  Denonville,  writes  that  the  Iroquois  declared  that,  in 
(.lumleriiig  the  canoes,  they  thought  iliey  were  executing  the  orders  they 
had  rocoived  to  plunder  La  Salle's  people.  Denonville,  M<fiiioire  adress^ 
cu  Ministre.  snr  les  Affaires  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  10  Aout.  1688.  The  ' 
Iroquois  told  Dongan,  in  1084,  "  that  they  had  not  don  any  thing  to 
t!io  Fidicli  but  what  ^Fonsr.  dehiRarr  Ordered  theni,  which  was  that 
if  they  mett  with  any  French  hunting  without  his  passe  to  take  what 
tliey  had  from  them."    Dongan  to  Denonville,  9  Sept.,  1687. 

^  "  Ce  qui  rait  M,  de  la  Barre  en  fureur."    Belmont,  Histoire  du 
Canada, 


88 


LE  FEBVRE  DE  LA  BABRE. 


[1084 


the  foe,  while  at  the  same  time  begging  your  aid 
for  a  poor,  unhappy  people  on  the  point  of  fallincr 
victims  to  a  nation  of  barbarians."  He  says  that 
the  total  number  of  men  in  Canada  capable  of 
bearing  arms  is  about  two  thousand ;  that  he  re- 
ceived last  year  a  hundred  and  fifty  raw  recruits; 
and  that  he  wants,  in  addition,  seven  or  eight  hun- 
dred good  soldiers.  "  Recall  me,"  he  concludes, "  if 
you  will  not  help  me,  for  I  cannot  bear  to  see  the 
country  perish  in  my  hands."  At  the  same  time, 
he  declares  his  intention  to  attack  the  Senecas, 
with  or  without  help,  .ibout  the  middle  of  August.' 
Here  we  leave  him,  for  a  while,  scared,  excited, 
and  blustering. 

^  La  Bane  au  Roy^  5  t/iitn,  1684. 


: 


m-hj 


3  ! 


1 


.v*-  :^j>l^ 


CHAPTER  VI. 

1684. 

LA  BARRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS. 

DoxoAN.  —  New  YonK  and  its  Indian  Neighbors.  —  The  Rivai 
Governors.  —  Dongan  and  the  Iroquois.  —  Mission  to  Onon- 
daga.—  An  Iroquois  Politician.  —  Warnings  of  Lambervillb. 

—  Iroquois  Boldness.  —  La  Barre  takes  the  Field.  —  Hi8 
Motives.  —  The  March.  —  rKsxiLENCE.  —  Council  at  La  Famine. 

—  The  Iroquois  defiant.  —  Humiliation  of  La  Bauub.  —  The 
Indian  Allies. — Their  Rage  and  Disappointment.  —  Recax^l 
OP  La  Barre. 

The  Dutch  colony  of  New  Netherland  had  now 
become  the  English  colony  of  New  York.  Its 
proprietor,  the  Duke  of  York,  afterwards  James  II. 
of  England,  had  appointed  Colonel  Thomas  Dongan 
its  governor.  He  was  a  Catholic  Irish  gentleman 
of  high  rank,  nephew  of  the  famous  Earl  of  Tyr- 
connel,  and  presumptive  heir  to  the  earldom  of 
Limerick.  He  had  served  in  France,  was  familiar 
with  its  language,  and  partial  to  its  king  and  its 
nobility;  but  he  nevertheless  gave  himself  with 
vigor  to  the  duties  of  his  new  trust. 

The  Dutch  and  English  colonists  aimed  at  a 
share  in  the  western  fur  trade,  hitherto  a  monopoly 
of  Canada;  and  it  is  said  that  Dutch  traders  had 
already  ventured  among  the  tribes  of  the  Great 
Likes,  boldly  poaching  on  the  French  preserves. 


'^ 


90 


LA   BAIIRE  AND  THE   IROQUOIS. 


im. 


B 


Dongan  did  his  utmost  to  promote  their  interests, 
so  far  at  least  as  was  consistent  with  his  instruc- 
tions from  the  Duke  of  York,  enjoining  liim  to 
give  the  French  governor  no  just  cause  of  offefue.' 

For  several  years  past,  the  Iroquois  had  ujiule 
forays  against  the  borders  of  Maryland  and  \'ir. 
ginia,  plundering  and  killing  the  settlers;  and  a 
declared  lupture  between  liiose  colonies  and  the 
savage  confederates  had  more  than  once  been  m- 
minent.  The  English  believed  that  these  hostili. 
ties  were  instigated  by  the  Jesuits  in  the  Iroquois 
villages.  There  is  no  proof  whatever  of  the  ac- 
cusation ;  but  it  is  certain  that  it  was  the  interest 
of  Canada  to  provoke  a  war  w  hich  might,  sooner 
or  later,  involve  New  York.  In  consequence  of  a 
renew.al  of  such  attacks,  Lord  Howard  of  Elliuo:- 
ham,  governor  of  Virginia,  came  to  Albany  in  the 
sunnuer  of  1684,  to  hold  a  council  with  the  Iro- 
quois. 

The  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  and  Cayugas  were  the! 
offending  tribes.     They  all  promised  friendship  for 
the  future.     A  hole  wa.s  dug  in  the  court-yard  of 
the  council  house,  each  of  the  three  threw  a  hatchet 
into  it,  and  Lord  Howard  and  the  representative  of 

1  ^S(V  John    Wndni  to  Domjnn,  4   Dec,  1084 ;   N.  Y.  Col.  Dora.,  IIL  | 
863.     Wonlen  was  the  duke's  secretary. 

Dongan  has  been  chaigrd  with  inslip;ati'ig  the  Iroquois  to  attack  tliel 
French.     Tlie  Jes\iit  Laiuberville,  writing  from  Onondaga,  says,  on  the 
contrary,  that  lie  hears  tiiat  the  "  governor  of  New  England  [Nau  Yorku 
when  the  MoUawk  chiefs  asked  him  to  continue  the  sale  of  powrlerto 
tlieni  replied  that  it  should  bo  continued  so  long  as  they  would  not  niakej 
war  on  Clu-islians."     Lamhrville  ii  La  Bane,  10  F^c,  1084. 

Tlio  French  ambassador  at  London  complained  that  Dongan  excited | 
the  Iroquois  to  war,  and  Dci.fjan  denied  the  charge.    N.  Y.  Col.  Docs. 
III.  606,  609f 


fl 


im\ 


ENGLISH  AND  IIIOQUOIS. 


91 


Maryliiiid  added  two  others ;  then  the  hole  was 
filled,  tlie  son^  of  peaee  was  sung,  and  the  high 
coiitrMcting  parties  stood  pledged  to  nuitnal  accord.^ 
'Hie  Moluiwks  were  also  at  the  couneil,  and  the 
SoiiecMS  soon  after  arrived  ;  so  that  ,dl  the  confed- 
eracy was  present  hy  its  deputies.  Not  long  before, 
La  Bairc,  then  in  the  heat  oT  his  martial  prepara- 
tions, had  sent  a  messenger  to  Dongan  with  Ji  let- 
ter, infoiniing  him  that,  as  the  Senecas  and  Cay ugaa 
had  ])lundered  French  canoes  and  assaulted  a 
French  fort,  he  was  compelled  to  attack  them,  and 
begging  that  the  Dutch  and  English  colonists  should 
be  forbidden  to  supply  them  with  arms.^  This 
leller  ])roduced  two  results,  neither  of  them  agree- 
al)le  to  the  writer  :  first,  the  Iroquois  were  fully 
Avarned  of  the  designs  of  the  French  ;  and,  secondly, 
Dongan  gained  the  opportunity  he  wanted  of  as- 
serting the  claim  of  his  king  to  sovereignty  over 
the  confederacy,  and  possession  of  the  whole 
country  south  of  the  Great  Lakes.  He  added 
tliat,  if  the  Iroquois  had  done  wrong,  he  would  re- 
quire them,  as  British  subjects,  to  make  reparation ; 
and  lie  urged  La  Barre,  for  the  sake  of  peace  be- 
tween the  two  colonies,  to  refrain  from  his  intended 
invasion  of  British  territory.^ 

Don<»an  next  laid  before  the  assembled  sachems 
the  complaints  made  against  them  in  the  letter  of 
La  Barre.  They  replied  by  accusing  the  French 
ol"  carrying  arms  to  their  enemies,  the  Illinois  and 

^  Report  of   Conferences  at  Albany,  in  Colden,  Uuiory  of  the  Fm 
Xatiiiiis,  50  (ed.  1727,  Shea's  reprint). 
■-'  I.d  Barre  a  Duiigan,  16  Juin,  1684. 
"  Uonyan  a  La  Barre,  24  Juin,  1084 


92 


LA  BARRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS. 


[16b4 


the  Mianiis.  "  Onontio,"  said  their  orator,  "  calls 
us  his  children,  and  then  helps  our  enemies  to 
knock  us  in  the  head."  They  were  somewhat 
disturbed  at  the  prospect  of  La  Barre's  thre^^teued 
attack  ;  and  Dongaii  seized  the  occasion  to  draw 
from  them  an  acknowledgment  of  subjection  to  the 
Duke  of  York,  promising  in  retiiin  that  they  should 
be  protected  from  the  French.  They  did  not  hesi- 
tate. "We  put  ourselves,"  said  the  Iroquois 
speaker,  "  under  the  great  sachem  Charles,  who 
lives  over  the  Great  Lake,  and  imder  the  protection 
of  the  great  Duke  of  York,  brother  of  your  groat 
sachem."  But  he  added  a  u'oment  after,  "  Let  yom 
friend  [King  Charles)  who  lives  over  the  Great 
Lake  know  that  we  arc  a  free  people,  though 
united  to  the  English."  '  They  consented  that  the 
arms  of  the  Duke  of  York  should  be  planted  in 
their  villages,  being  told  that  this  would  prevent 
the  French  from  destroying  them.  Dongan  now 
insisted  that  they  should  make  no  treaty  with 
Onontio  without  his  consent ;  and  he  promised  that, 
if  their  country  should  be  invaded,  he  would  send 
four  hundred  horsemen  and  as  many  foot  soldiers 
to  their  aid. 

As  for  the  acknowledgment  of  subjection  to  the 
king  and  the  Duke  of  York,  the  Iroquois  neither 
understood  its  full  meaning  nor  meant  to  abide  by 
it.  What  they  did  clearly  understand  was  that, 
while  they  recognized  Onontio,  the  governor  of 
Canada,   as  their    father,   they    recognized    Cor- 

*  Speech  of  the  Onondagas  and  Jayugas,  in  Colden,  Five  Nations,  68 
(1727). 


'\ 


1684.1 


MISSION  TO  ONONDAGA. 


93 


laer,  the  governor  of  New  York,  only  as  their 
brother.'  Dongan,  it  seems,  couhl  not,  or  dared 
not  change  this  mark  of  equality.  He  did  his  best, 
liowcver,  to  make  good  his  claims,  and  sent  Arnold 
Viek^,  a  Dutch  interpreter,  as  his  envoy  to  Onon- 
(lafra.  Viele  set  out  for  the  Iroquois  capital,  and 
thither  we  will  follow  him. 

He  mounted  his  horse,  and  in  the  heats  of 
August  rode  westward  along  the  valley  of  the 
Mohawk.  On  a  hill  a  bow-shot  from  the  river,  he 
saw  the  first  Mohawk  town,  Kaghnawaga,  encircled 
by  a  strong  palisade.  Next  he  stopped  for  a  time 
at  Gandagaro,  on  a  meadcv/  near  the  bank ;  and 
next,  at  Canajora,  on  a  plain  two  miles  away. 
Tionondogue,  the  last  and  strongest  of  these  forti- 
fied villages,  stood  like  the  first  on  a  hill  that  over- 
looked the  river,  and  all  the  rich  meadows  around 
were  covered  with  Indian  corn.  The  largest  of 
the  four  contained  but  thirty  houses,  and  all  to- 
gether could  furnish  scarcely  more  than  three 
hundred  warriors.^ 

When  the  last  Mohawk  town  was  passed,  a  ride 
of  four  or  five  days  still  lay  before  the  envoy.  He 
held  his  way  along  the  old  Indian  trail,  now  traced 
through  the  grass  of  sunny  meadows,  and  now  tun- 
nelled through  the  dense  green  of  shady  forests, 
till  it  led  him  to  the  town  of  the  Oneidas,  contain- 

^  Except  the  small  tribe  of  the  Oneidas,  who  addressed  Corlaer  as 
Father.  Corlaer  was  the  official  Iroquois  name  of  the  governor  of  New 
York ;  Onns  (the  Feather,  or  Pen),  that  of  tlie  governor  of  Pennsylvania; 
&\\A  Assarigoa  (the  Big  Knife,  or  Sword),  that  of  the  governor  of  Vir- 
ginia. Corlaer.  or  Cuyler,  was  the  name  of  a  Dutchman  wliom  the 
Iroquois  held  in  great  respect. 

•^  Journal  of  Wentworth  Greenhalgh,  1677,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  HI.  250. 


94 


LA  BATIRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS. 


[1684 


ing  about  a  hunflred  bark  houses,  with  twice  as 
many  fighting  men.  the  entire  force  of  the  tribe. 
Here,  as  in  the  four  Mohawk  viUages,  he  planted 
the  scutcheon  of  the  Duke  of  York,  and,  still  ad- 
vancing, came  at  length  to  a  vast  open  space  where 
the  rugged  fields,  patched  with  growing  corn, 
sloped  upwards  into  a  broad,  low  hill,  crowned  with 
the  clustered  lodges  of  Onondaga.  There  were 
from  one  to  two  hundred  of  these  large  bark  dwell- 
ings, most  of  them  holding  several  families.  The 
capital  of  the  confederacy  was  not  fortified  at 
this  time,  and  its  only  defence  was  the  valor  of 
some  four  hundred  warriors.' 

In  this  focus  of  trained  and  organized  savagery, 
where  ferocity  was  cultivated  as  a  virtue,  and  every 
emotion  of  pity  stifled  as  unworthy  of  a  man  ;  where 
ancient  rites,  customs,  and  traditions  were  held 
with  the  tenacity  of  a  people  who  joined  the 
extreme  of  wildness  with  the  extreme  of  con- 
servatism, —  here  burned  the  council  fire  of  the 
five  confederate  tribes ;  and  here,  in  time  of  need, 
were  gathered  their  bravest  and  their  wisest  to 
debate  high  questions  of  policy  and  war. 

The  object  of  Viele  was  to  confirm  the  Iroquois 
in  their  very  questionable  attitude  of  subjection 
to  the  British  crown,  and  persuade  them  to  make 
no  treaty  or  agreement  with  the  French,  except 
through  the  intervention  of  Dongan,  or  at  least 

1  Journal  of  GreenhaJfjh.  The  site  of  Onondaga,  like  that  of  all  the 
Iroquois  towns,  was  changed  from  time  to  time,  as  the  soil  of  the 
neighborhood  became  impoverished,  and  the  supply  of  wood  exhausted. 
Greenhalgli,  in  1677,  estimated  the  warriors  at  three  hundred  and  fifty; 
but  the  number  had  increased  of  late  by  the  adoption  of  prisoners. 


1684] 


AN  IROQUOIS  POLITICIAN. 


95 


with  hi^  consent.  The  envoy  foiinrl  two  French- 
men in  the  town,  whose  presence  boded  ill  to  his 
errand.  Tlie  first  was  the  veteran  colonist  of  Mon- 
treal, Charles  '.e  Moyne,  sent  by  La  Barre  to  invite 
the  Onondngas  to  a  conference.  They  had  known 
him,  in  peace  or  war,  for  a  quarter  of  a  century ; 
niifl  thoy  greatly  respected  him.  The  other  was 
the  Jesuit  Jean  de  Lamberville,  who  had  long 
lived  among  them,  and  knew  them  better  than 
tliey  knew  themselves.  Here,  too,  was  another 
pcr.^onage  who  cannot  pass  unnoticed.  lie  was  a 
famous  Onondaga  orator  named  Otreoiiati,  and 
called  also  Big  Mouth,  whether  by  reason  of  the 
dimensions  of  that  feature  or  the  greatness  of  the 
•wisdom  that  issued  from  it.  His  contemporary, 
Baron  La  Hontan,  thinking  perhaps  that  his 
French  name  of  La  (h-ande  Gueule  was  wanting 
in  dignity.  Latinized  it  into  Grangula;  and  the 
Scotchman,  Golden,  afterwards  improved  it  into 
Garangula,  under  which  high-sounding  appellation 
I  Big  Mouth  has  descended  to  posterity.  He  was 
an  astute  old  savage,  well  trained  in  the  arts  of 
Loqnois  rhetoric,  and  gifted  with  the  power  of 
strong  and  caustic  sarcasm,  which  has  marked 
miore  than  one  of  the  chief  orators  of  the  confeder- 
acy. He  shared  with  most  of  his  countrymen  the 
conviction  that  the  earth  had  nothing  so  great  as 
the  league  of  the  L^oquois ;  but,  if  he  could  be 
proud  and  patriotic,  so  too  he  could  be  selfish  and 
niean.  He  valued  gifts,  attentions,  and  a  good 
meal,  and  would  pay  for  them  abundantly  in 
promises,  which  he  kept  or  not,  as  his  own  interestf 


96 


LA  BARRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS. 


ill 


li 


or  those  of  his  people  might  require.  lie  could 
use  bold  and  loud  words  in  public,  and  then  secretly 
make  his  peace  with  those  he  had  denouncofl, 
He  was  so  given  to  rough  jokes  that  the  intendant, 
Meules,  calls  him  a  buffoon  ;  but  his  buffoonerj 
seems  to  have  been  often  a  cover  to  his  cnift, 
He  had  taken  a  prominent  part  in  the  council  ot 
the  preceding  summer  at  Montreal ;  and,  doubt- 
less, as  he  stood  in  full  dress  before  the  governor 
and  the  officers,  his  head  plumed,  his  face  painted, 
his  figure  draped  in  a  colored  blanket,  and  his 
feet  decked  with  embroidered  moccasins,  he  was  a 
picturesque  and  striking  object.  He  was  less  so 
as  he  squatted  almost  naked  by  his  lodge  fire,  with 
a  piece  of  board  laid  across  his  lap,  chopping  rank 
tobacco  with  a  scalping-knife  to  fill  his  pipe,  and 
entertaining  the  grinning  circle  with  grotesque 
stories  and  obscene  jests.  Though  not  one  of  the 
hereditary  chiefs,  his  influence  was  great.  *'  He 
has  the  strongest  head  and  the  loudest  voice 
among  the  Iroquois,"  wrote  Lamberville  to  La 
Barre.  "  He  calls  himself  your  best  friend.  .  . . 
He  is  a  venal  creature,  whom  you  do  well  to  keep 
in  pay.  I  assured  him  I  would  send  him  the  jerkin 
you  promised."  *  Well  as  the  Jesuit  knew  the 
Iroquois,  he  was  deceived  if  he  thought  that  Big 
Mouth  was  securely  won. 

Lamberville's  constant  effort  was  to  prevent  a 
rupture.  He  wrote  with  every  opportunity  to  the 
governor,  painting  the  calamities  that  war  would 

^  Letters  of  Lamberville  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  TX.  For  specimens  ol 
Big  Moutli's  skill  in  drawing,  see  ibid.,  IX.  386. 


■aiu(jfrvui,t 


ii 


\m\ 


WARNINGS  OF  LAMBEUVILLE. 


97 


bring,  Jind  warning-  liim  that  it  was  vain  to  hope 
tlint  \hp  lenguo  roiild  be  (lividod,  and  its  thrco 
onstorii  tribes  kept  neutral,  while  the  Senecas 
wore  nttiicked.  He  assuied  hirn,  on  the  contrary, 
that  they  would  all  unite  to  fall  upon  Canada, 
ravnging,  burning,  and  butchering  along  the  whole 
range  of  defenceless  settlements.  "  You  cannot 
believe,  Monsieur,  Avith  'what  'oy  the  Senecas 
Icnrned  that  you  might  possibly  resolve  on  war. 
When  tliey  heard  of  the  preparations  at  Fort 
Frontenac,  they  said  that  the  French  had  a  great 
mind  to  be  stripped,  roasted,  and  eaten ;  and  that 
they  will  see  if  their  flesh,  which  they  suppose  to 
have  a  salt  taste,  by  reason  of  the  salt  which  we 
use  with  our  food,  be  as  good  as  that  of  their  other 
enemies."  ^  Lamberville  also  informs  the  gover- 
nor that  the  Senecas  have  made  ready  for  any 
emergency,  buried  their  last  year's  corn,  pre- 
pared a  hiding  place  in  the  depth  of  the  forest  for 
their  old  men,  women,  and  children,  and  stripped 
their  towns  of  every  thing  that  they  value  ;  and 
that  their  fifteen  hundred  warriors  will  not  shut 
themselves  up  in  forts,  but  tight  under  cover, 
among  trees  and  in  the  tall  grass,  with  little  risk 
to  themselves  and  extreme  danger  to  the  invader. 
"There  is  no  profit,"  he  says,  "in  fighting  with 
this  sort  of.  banditti,  whom  you  cannot  catch,  but 
\vho  will  catch  many  of  your  people.  The  Onon- 
dagas  wish  to  bring  about  an  agreement.  Must 
the  father  and  the  children,  they  ask,  cut  each 
other's  throats?" 


^.ufnUrvlUt  t  U  Barre,  11  July,  1684,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  253- 

7 


98 


LA   BATIRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS. 


[lObl 


I  i 


ii\ 


1 1 


The  Ononflflgas,  moved  by  the  influence  of  the 
Jesuit  and  the  gifts  of  La  Bnrre,  did  in  fact  winh 
to  act  as  mediators  between  their  Seneca  confoder- 
ales  and  tlic  French  ;  and  to  this  end  they  invitofl 
the  Seneca  elders  to  a  council.  The  meeting  took 
place  before  the  arrival  of  Viele,  and  lasted  two 
days.  Tlie  Senccas  were  at  first  refractory,  and 
hot  for  war,  but  at  length  consented  that  the 
Onondagas  might  make  peafce  for  them,  if  they 
could ;  a  conclusion  which  was  largely  due  to  the 
eloquence  of  Big  Mouth. 

The  first  act  of  Viele  was  a  blunder.  He  told 
the  Onondagas  that  the  English  governor  was 
master  of  their  country  ;  and  that,  as  they  were 
subjects  of  the  king  of  England,  they  must  liold 
no  council  with  the  French  without  permission. 
The  pride  of  Big  Mouth  was  touched.  *'  You 
say,"  he  exclaimed  to  the  envoy,  "  that  we  are 
subjects  of  the  king  of  England  and  the  Duke  of 
York ;  but  we  say  that  we  arc  brothers.  We  must 
take  care  of  ourselves.  The  coat  of  arms  which 
you  have  fastened  to  that  post  cannot  defend  us 
against  Onontio.  We  tell  you  that  we  shall  bind  a 
covenant  chain  to  our  arm  and  to  his.  We  shall 
take  the  Senecas  by  one  hand  and  Onontio  by  the 
other,  and  their  hatchet  and  his  sword  shall  be 
thrown  into  deep  water."  ^ 

Thus  w^ell  and  manfully  did  Big  Mouth  assert 
the  independence  of  his  tribe,  and  proclaim  it 
the  arbiter  of  peace.  He  told  the  warriors,  more- 
over, to  close  their  ears  to  the  words  of  the  Dutch- 

>  Colden,  Five  Nations, 80  (1727). 


108-1. 


LA   BARIIK   TAKKS  THE  FIELD. 


99 


mnn.  wlio  spoke  ns  if  he  were  drunk  ; '  nnrl  it  was 
rosolvo'1  at  Inst,  tlmt  lie,  Big  Mouth,  witli  an  em- 
biissv  of  chiefs  and  elders,  should  go  with  Le 
Movno  to  meet  the  French  governor. 

While  these  things  were  passing  at  Onondaga, 
La  l^inre  had  finished  his  preparations,  and  was 
now  in  full  campaign.  Before  setting  out,  he  had 
written  to  the  minister  that  he  was  about  to  ad- 
viiiicc  on  the  enemy,  with  seven  hundred  Cana- 
diiiiis,  n  lumdred  and  thirty  regulars,  and  two  hun- 
dred mission  Indians ;  that  more  Indians  were  to 
join  him  on  the  way;  that  Du  Lhut  and  La  Duran- 
taye  were  to  meet  him  at  Niagara  with  a  body  of 
conreur^  de  hois  and  Indians  from  the  interior ; 
and  thnt,  "  when  we  are  all  united,  we  will  perish 
or  destroy  the  enemy."  ^  On  the  same  day,  he 
wrote  to  the  king  :  "  My  jDurpose  is  to  exterminate 
the  Scnecas ;  for  otherwise  your  Majesty  need 
take  no  farther  account  of  this  country,  since  there 
is  no  hope  of  peace  with  them,  except  when  they 
arc  driven  to  it  by  force.  I  pray  you  do  not 
abandon  me  ;  and  be  assured  that  I  shall  do  my 
|duty  at  the  head  of  your  faithful  colonists."^ 

A  few  days  after  writing  these  curiously  inco- 
Iherent  epistles,  La  Barre  received  a  letter  from  his 
colleague,  Meules,  who  had  no  belief  that  he  meant 
to  fight,  and  was  determined  to  compel  him  to  do 
eo,  if  possible.  "  There  is  a  report,"  WTote  the 
intendant,  ''  that  you  mean  to  make  peace.  It  is 
[doing  great  harm.     Our  Indian  allies  will  despise 

1  LmnhcrvUle  to  La  Barre,  28  Aug.,  108i,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs,,  IX.  257 

2  Tm  Barre  an  Mlnistre,  G  Juli/,  1684. 
*  La  Barre  au  Roy,  mime  datA. 


_» ^ 


100 


LA   BAIiUK  AND  TlIK  lUOCiUOIS. 


110<H 


,   I 


US.  I  trust  (he  story  is  untrue,  and  tluit  you  uill 
listen  to  no  overtures.  The  expense  has  been 
enormous.  The  whole  population  is  rouscMl."' 
Not  salisfi(Ml  with  this,  Meules  sent  the  genera! 
a  second  letter,  nieanl,  like  the  first,  as  a  tomV 
and  a  stimulant.  "  If  we  come  to  terms  with 
tlie  Iroquois,  without  first  making  them  feel  the 
strength  of  our  arms,  we  may  expect  that,  in 
future,  they  will  do  every  thing  they  can  to 
humiliate  us,  because  we  drew  the  sword  against 
them,  and  showed  them  our  teeth.  I  do  not  think 
that  any  course  is  now  left  for  us  but  to  carry  the 
war  to  their  very  doors,  and  do  our  utmost  to 
reduce  them  to  such  a  point  that  they  shall  never 
again  be  heard  of  as  a  nation,  but  only  as  our  sub- 
jects and  slaves.  If,  after  having  gone  so  far,  \ve 
do  not  fight  them,  we  shall  lose  all  our  trade,  and 
bring  this  country  to  the  brink  of  ruin.  The 
Iroquois,  and  especially  the  Senecas,  pass  for  great 
cowards.  The  Reverend  Father  Jesuit,  w^ho  is  at 
Prairie  de  la  Madeleine,  told  me  as  much  vester- 
day  ;  and,  though  he  has  never  been  among  them, 
he  assured  me  that  he  has  heard  everybody  say 
so.  But,  even  if  they  were  brave,  we  ought  to  be 
very  glad  of  it ;  since  then  we  could  hope  that 
they  would  wait  our  attack,  and  give  us  a  chance 
to  beat  them.  If  we  do  not  destroy  them,  they 
will  destroy  us.  I  think  you  see  but  too  well  that 
your  honor  and  the  safety  of  the  country  are 
involved  in  the  results  of  this  war."^ 

1  Meules  a  La  Barre,  15  Jiili/,  1084. 

2  Meules  a  La  Barre,  14  Anut,  1084.  Tliis  and  the  preceding  lettei 
stand,  by  a  copyist's  error,  in  the  name  of  La  Barre.  They  are  cerrVi  Iv 
written  by  Meulrs. 


\m. 


ACCUSATIONS  OF  MEULES. 


101 


Whilo  Monies  thus  wrote  to  the  governor,  he 
y;\'o\(i  also  to  the  iriinister,  Seignehiy,  and  expressed 
liis  views  with  groat  (]istin(;tness.  *' I  feel  hound 
in  ('oiisi'iencc  to  tell  you  that  nothing  was  ever 
lieanl  of  so  extraordinary  as  what  we  sec  done  in 
tills  coinitry  every  day.  One  would  think  that 
there  was  a  divided  empire  here  hetween  the  king 
an<l  the  governor;  and,  if  things  should  go  on  long 
in  tliis  way,  the  governor  would  have  a  far  greater 
share  than  his  Majesty.  The  persons  whom  Mon- 
sieur hi  Barre  has  sent  this  year  to  trade  at  Fort 
Fronleiiac  have  already  shared  with  him  from  ten 
to  twelve  thousand  crowns."  He  then  recounts 
numerous  abuses  and  malversations  on  the  part  of 
the  governor.  "  In  a  word,  Monseigneur,  this 
war  has  Ijcen  decided  upon  in  the  cabinet  of  Mon- 
sieur the  general,  along  \yith  six  of  the  chief  nier- 
chants  of  the  country.  If  it  had  not  served  their 
plans,  he  would  have  found  means  to  settle  every 
thing ;  but  the  merchants  made  him  understand 
that  tliey  were  in  danger  of  being  plundered,  and 
that,  having  an  immense  amount  of  mercliandise 
in  the  woods  in  nearly  tw^o  hundred  canoes  fitted 
lout  last  year,  it  was  better  to  make  use  of  the 
people  of  the  country  to  carry  on  war  against  the 
Senecas.  This  being  done,  he  hopes  to  make  ex- 
traordinary profits  without  any  risk,  because  one 
of  two  things  will  happen  :  either  we  shall  gain 
some  considerable  advantage  over  the  savages,  as 
tliere  is  reason  to  hope,  if  Monsieur  the  general 
hvill  but  attack  them  in  their  villages  ;  or  else  we 
shall  make  a  peace  which  will  keep  every  thing 


(I 


103 


LA  BARRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS. 


IIOM 


safe  for  a  time.  These  are  assuredly  the  sole 
motives  of  this  war,  which  has  for  principle  and 
end  nothing  but  mere  interest.  He  says  hhiiseli 
that  there  is  good  fishing  in  troubled  waters.' 

''  With  all  our  preparations  for  war,  and  all  the 
expense  in  which  Monsieur  the  general  is  involvii](r 
his  Majesty,  I  \\i\\  take  the  liberty  to  tell  you. 
Monseigneur,  thoLigh  I  am  no  prophet,  that  1  dis- 
cover no  disposition  on  the  part  of  Monsieur  the 
general  to  make  war  against  the  aforesaid  savages, 
In  ray  belief,  he  will  content  himself  with  going  in 
a  canoe  as  far  as  Fort  Frontenac,  and  then  send 
for  the  Senecas  to  treat  of  peace  with  them,  and 
deceive  the  people,  the  intendant,  and,  if  I  maj 
be  allowed  with  all  possible  respect  to  say  so,  \k 
Majesty  himself. 

"  P.  S.  —  I  will  finish  this  letter,  Monseigneur, 
hj  telling  you  that  he  set  out  yesterday,  July  lOtli, 
with  a  detachment  of  two  hundred  men.  All 
Quebec  w^as  filled  with  grief  to  see  him  embark 
on  an  expedition  of  war  tete-a-tete  with  the  mau 
named  La  Chesnaye.  Everybody  says  that  the 
war  is  a  sham,  that  these  two  will  arrange  every 


1  Tlie  famous  voi/ageur,  Nicolas  Perrot,  agrees  witli  the  intenclantl 
"lis  (Aa  Barre  et  scs  nssocies)  s'imaginercnt  que  sitost  que  le  Fraii(;oi!J 
vieiulroit  a  paioistre,  I'lrroquois  luy  denianderoit  mise'ricorde,  qu'il  seioiil 
facile  d'estaMir  des  niagasins,  construire  des  barques  dans  le  lac  OntiirioJ 
ot  que  c'estoit.  un  moyen  de  trouver  des  richesses."  M^moire  sur  in\ 
Mcctirs,  Coustumes,  et  Re'liijion  des  Sauvcu/es,  chap.  xxi. 

The  Sulpitian,  Abbe  Belmont,  says  ihat  (he  avarice  of  the  mcrclianul 
was  the  cause  of  the  war  :  that  they  and  La  Barre  wished  to  prevent  tliei 
Iroquois  from  interrupting  trade  ;  and  that  La  Barre  aimed  at  an  iiiileffl-l 
nity  for  the  sixteen  hundred  livres  in  merchandise  which  the  Senecail 
liad  taken  from  his  canoes  early  in  the  year.  Belmont  adds  that  he| 
ivanted  to  briner  them  tc  terms  without  fighting. 


16&4.] 


THE  MARCH. 


103 


tliliv  between  them,  and,  in  a  word,  do  whatever 
will  help  their  trade.  The  whole  country  is  in 
despair  to  see  how  matters  are  managed."  ^ 

After  a  long  stay  at  Montreal,  La  Barre  em- 
barked his  little  army  at  Lii  Chine,  crossed  Lake 
St.  Louis,  and  began  the  ascent  of  the  upper  St. 
Ltnvience.  In  one  of  the  three  companies  of 
reo'ulars  which  formed  a  part  of  the  force  w^as  a 
voiui<^  subaltern,  the  Baron  la  Hontan,  who  has 
left  a  lively  account  of  the  expedition.  Some  of 
j  the  men  were  in  flat  boats,  and  souic  were  in  birch 
I  canoes.  Of  the  latter  was  La  Hontan,  whose  craft 
kvas  paddled  by  three  Canadians.  Several  times 
jtliey  shouldered  it  through  the  forest  to  escape  the 
turmoil  of  the  rapids.  The  flat  boats  could  not 
be  so  handled,  and  were  dragged  or  pushed  up 
ill  the  shallow  water  close  to  the  bank,  by  gangs 
I  of  militia  men,  toiling  and  struggling  among  the 
rocks  and  foam.  The  regulars,  unskilled  in  such 
matters,  were  spared  these  fatigues,  though  tor- 
mented night  and  day  by  swarms  of  gnats  and 
mosquitoes,  objects  of  La  Hontan's  bitterest  invec- 
tive. At  length  the  last  rapid  was  passed,  and  they 
inoved  serenely  on  their  way,  threaded  the  mazes 
of  the  Thousand  Islands,  entered  what  is  now  the 
harbor  of  Kingston,  and  landed  under  the  pali^ndes 
I  of  Fort  Frontenac. 

Here  the  whole  force  was  soon  assembled,  the 

Iregulars  in  their  tents,  the  Canadian  militia  and 

the  Indians  in  huts  and  under  sheds  of  bark.     Of 

these  red  allies  there  were  several  hundred  :  Abe- 


1  Meules  au  .Uinistre,  8-11  Juillet,  1684. 


104 


LA  BARRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS. 


^im. 


1 1 


nakis  and  Algoii quins  from  Siller y,  tlurons  from 
Lorette,  and  converted  Iroquois  from  the  Jesuit 
mission  of  Saut  St.  Louis,  near  Montreal.  The 
camp  of  the  French  was  on  a  low,  damp  plain  near 
the  fort ;  and  liere  a  malarious  fever  presently 
attacked  them,  killing  many  and  disabling  many 
more.  La  Ilontan  says  that  La  Barre  himself  was 
brought  by  it  to  the  brink  of  the  grave.  If  he  had 
ever  entertained  any  other  purpose  than  that  of 
inducing  the  Senecas  to  agree  to  a  temporary 
peace,  he  now  completely  abandoned  it.  He  dared 
not  even  insist  that  the  offending  tribe  should  meet 
him  in  council,  but  hastened  to  ask  the  mediation 
of  the  Onondagas,  which  the  letters  of  Lamberville 
had  assured  him  that  they  were  disposed  to  offer, 
He  sent  Le  Moyne  to  persuade  them  to  meet  hiin 
on  their  own  side  of  the  lake,  and,  with  such  of  his 
men  as  w^ere  able  to  move,  crossed  to  the  moiitli 
of  Salmon  River,  then  called  La  Famine. 

Tne  name  proved  prophetic.  Provisions  fell 
short  from  bad  management  in  transportation,  and 
•the  men  grew  hungry  and  discontented.  Septem- 
ber had  begun  ;  the  place  w^as  unwholesome,  and 
the  malarious  fever  of  Fort  Frontenac  infected  the 
new  encampment.  The  soldiers  sickened  rapidly. 
La  Barre,  racked  with  suspense,  w^aited  impatiently 
the  return  of  Le  Moyne.  We  have  seen  already 
the  result  of  his  mission,  and  how  he  and  Lamber- 
ville, in  spite  of  the  envoy  of  the  English  governor, 
gained  from  the  Onondaga  chiefs  the  promise  to 
meet  Onontio  in  council.  Le  Moyne  appeared  at 
La  Famine  on  the  third  of  the  month,  bringing 


H 


1684.] 


LA  FAMINE. 


105 


with  him  Big  Mouth  and  thirteen  other  deputies. 
La  Barre  gave  them  a  feast  of  bread,  wine,  and 
fjnbnon  trout,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  fourth 
the  council  began. 

Befoie  the  deputies  arrived,  the  governor  had 
pent  the  sick  men  homeward  in  order  to  conceal 
Ills  helpless  condition ;  and  he  now  told  the  Iro- 
quois that  he  had  left  his  army  at  Fort  Frontenac, 
ami  had  come  to  meet  them  attended  only  by  an 
escort.  The  Onondaga  politician  was  not  to  be  so 
deceived.  He,  or  one  of  his  party,  spoke  a  little 
French ;  and  during  the  night,  roaming  noiselessly 
among  the  tents,  he  contrived  to  learn  the  true 
state  of  the  case  from  the  soldiers. 

The  council  was  held  on  an  open  spot  near  the 
French  encampment.  La  Barre  was  seated  in  an 
ariu-chair.  The  Jesuit  Bruyas  stood  by  him  as 
interpreter,  and  the  officers  were  ranged  on  his 
right  and  left.  The  Indians  sat  on  the  ground  in 
a  row  opposite  the  governor;  and  two  lines  of 
soldiers,  forming  two  sides  of  a  square,  closed  the 
intervenmg  space.  Among  the  officers  was  La 
Ilontan,  a  spectator  of  the  whole  proceeding.  He 
may  be  called  a  man  in  advance  of  his  time  ;  for  he 
had  the  caustic,  sceptical,  and  mocking  spirit  which 
a  century  later  marked  the  approach  of  the  great 
revolution,  but  which  was  not  a  characteristic  of 
the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  He  usually  told  the  truth 
when  he  had  no  motive  to  do  otherwise,  and  yet 
was  capable    at  times  of   prodigious  mendacity.^ 

^  L;i  Ilonlan  attempted  to  impose  on  his  readers  a  marvellous  story 
of  prett'iuled  discoveries  beyond  the  Mississii)pi ;  and  his  ill  repute  in  the 


I'll 
■1 


106 


LA  BAUUE  AND  THE   IIIOQUOIS. 


[\m 


\i 


There  in  no  reason  to  believe  tluit  he  indulged  in  it 
on  (he  present  oecasion,  and  his  aeeount  ol'  uhut 
he  now  saw  and  heard  may  [)iobably  be  taken  as 
substantially  eorreet.  Aeeoiding  to  him,  La  Iniirc 
opened  the  council  ns  follows  :  — 

*' The  king  my  mastei",  being  informed  that  tlio 
Five  Nations  of  the  Iroquois  have  long  acted  in  a 
unmner  adverse  to  peace,  has  ordered  me  to  como 
with  an  escort  to  this  place,  and  to  send  Akouessiiii 
\  {Le  Moj/iie)  to  Onondaga  to  invite  the  princi[)jil 
chiefs  to  meet  me.  It  is  the  wish  of  this  gieat 
kinu'  that  you  and  1  should  smoke  the  calumet  of 

i peace  together,  provided  that  you  promise,  in 
the  name  of  the    Mohawks,   Oneidas,  Onondaga?;, 

,;  Cayugas,  and  Senecas,  to  give  entire  satisfactiou 
/  and  indemnity   to  his   subjects,    and   do    nothing 
in  future  which  may  occasion  rupture." 

Then  he  recounted  the  olfences  of  the  Iroquois. 
First,  they  had  nial treated  and  robbed  French 
traders  in  the  country  of  the  llUnois;  ^Mvhei'e- 
fore,"  said  the  governor,  ''  I  am  ordered  to  denimid 
reparation,  and  in  case  of  refusal  to  declare  war 
against  you." 

Next,  *"  the  warriors  of  the  Five  Nations  have 
introduced  the  Eimdish  into  the  lakes  which  beloiii'' 
to  the  king  ni}^  master,  and  among  the  tribes  who 
are  his  children,  in  order  to  destroy  the  trade  of 
his  subjects,  and  seduce  these  people  from  the 
obedience  they  owe  him.  I  am  w^illing  to  forget 
this  ;  but,  should  it  happen  again,  I  am  expressly 
ordered  to  declare  w^ar  against  J'ou." 

niattor  of  voracity  is  due  ohierty  to  this  fabrication.  On  the  other  liaiul, 
his  account  of  wliat  he  saw  in  the  coU)ny  is  commonly  in  accord  with 
thti  best  contemporary  evidence. 


1084.] 


SrEECU  OF  BIG  MOUTH 


107 


Tliinlly,  "  the  vvurriors  of  the  Five  Nations  have 
miide  suiuhy  harhjirous  inroads  inlo  the  country  of 
tlio  Illinois  nnd  Miainis,  .scizinji:,  l)in(lin:^,  and  lead- 
in. ••  into  captivity  an  infinite  nuiidxT  ol'  these  sav- 
jn-vs  in  time  ol"  peju^e.  'I'liey  are  the  children  of 
my  king,  and  are  not  to  remain  your  slaves.  They 
must  at  once  he  set  free  and  sent  home.  If  you 
ret  use  to  do  this,  1  am  expressly  ordered  to  deehire 
WAV  a.i;ainst  you." 

La  Harre  concluded  hy  assuring  Big  Mouth,  art 
ie[)resonting  the  Five  Nations  of  the  lro([uois,  that 
the  French  would  leave  them  In  peace  if  they  made 
utoiienicnt  for  the  past,  and  promised  good  conduct 
for  the  future;  but  that,  if  they  did  not  heed  his 
^v()l•ds,  their  villages  should  be  burned,  and  they 
tlieinselves  destroyed.  lie  added,  though  he  knew 
the  contrary,  that  the  governor  of  New  York  would 
join  liini  in  war  against  them. 

Dining  the  delivery  of  this  martial  harangue^ 
Big  Mouth  sat  silent  and  attentive,  his  eyes  fixed 
on  the  bowl  of  his  pipe.  When  the  interpreter 
hiul  ceased,  he  rose,  walked  gi'avely  two  or  three 
times  around  the  lines  of  the  assembly,  thcL 
sto[)i)cd  before  the  governor,  looked  steadily  a< 
liiiu,  stretched  his  tawny  arm,  opened  his  capacious 
jaws.  ;uid  uttered  himself  as  follow\s :  — 

"  ()nonti(>,  I  honor  you,  and  all  the  warriors  who 
are  with  me  lienor  you.  Your  interpreter  has 
ended  his  speech,  and  now  I  begin  mine.  Listen 
to  my  words. 

''  Onontio,  when  you  left  Quebec,  you  must  liavo 
thought  that  the  heat  of  the  sun  had  burned  the 


108 


LA  BARRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS 


(1684 


It ' 


forests  tliJit  make  our  country  inaccessible  to  the 
French,  or  that  the  lake  had  overflowed  them  t<o 
that  we  could  not  escape  from  our  villages.  You 
must  have  thought  so,  Onontio ;  and  curiosity  to 
see  such  a  lire  or  such  a  flood  must  have  brought 
you  to  this  place.  Now  your  eyes  are  opened  ;  for 
I  and  my  warriors  have  come  to  tell  you  that  the 
Senecas,  Cayugas,  Onondagas,  Oneidas,  and  Mo- 
hawks are  all  alive.  1  thank  you  in  their  name 
for  bringing  back  the  calumet  of  peace  which  tliev 
gave  to  your  predecessors  ;  and  I  give  you  joy  thiit 
you  have  not  dug  up  the  hatchet  which  has  been 
so  often  red  with  the  blood  of  your  countrymen. 

"  Listen,  Onontio.  I  am  not  asleep.  My  eyes 
are  open ;  and  by  the  sun  that  gives  me  light  I  see 
a  great  captain  at  the  head  of  a  band  of  soldiers, 
Avho  talks  like  a  man  in  a  dream.  He  says  that 
he  has  come  to  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace  with  the 
Onondagas ;  but  I  see  that  he  came  to  knock  theiii 
in  the  head,  if  so  many  of  his  Frenchmen  were  not 
too  weak  to  fight.  I  see  Onontio  raving  in  a  camp 
of  sick  men,  whose  lives  the  Great  Spirit  has  saved 
by  smiting  them  with  disease.  Our  w^omen  had 
snatched  w^ar-clubs,  and  our  children  and  old  men 
seized  bows  and  arrows  to  attack  your  camp,  if 
our  wai'riors  had  not  restrained  them,  when  your 
messenger,  Akouessan,  appeared  in  our  village." 

He  next  justified  the  pillage  of  •French  traders 
on  the  ground,  very  doubtful  in  this  case,  thai 
they  Avere  carrying  arms  to  the  Illinois,  enemies 
of  the  confederacy ;  and  he  flatly  refused  to  make 
reparation,  telling  La  Barre  that  even  the  old  men 


■n 


\6M. 


Sl'EECH  OF  BIG  MOUTH. 


109 


of  his  tribe  had  no  fear  of  the  French.  He  also 
avowcfl  boldly  that  the  Iroquois  had  conducted 
En(Tlisli  traders  to  the  lakes.  ^'  ^Ye  are  born  free,'* 
he  exclaimed,  "  we  depend  neither  on  Onontio  nor 
on  Corlaer.  We  have  the  right  to  go  whitherso 
t'vor  we  please,  to  take  with  us  whomever  we  please, 
{iml  buy  and  sell  of  whomever  we  please.  If  your 
allies  are  your  slaves  or  your  children,  treat  them 
hke  slaves  or  children,  and  forbid  them  to  deal  with 
anybody  but  your  Frenchmen. 

"  We  have  knocked  the  Illinois  in  the  head,  be- 
cause they  cut  down  the  tree  of  peace  and  hunted 
the  beaver  on  our  lands.  We  have  done  less  than 
the  English  and  the  French,  who  have  seized  upon 
the  lands  of  many  tribes,  driven  them  away,  and 
built  towns,  callages,  and  forts  in  their  country. 

"  Listen,  Onontio.     My  voice  is  the  voice  of  the 
Five  Tribes  of  the  Iroquois.     When  they  buried 
the  hatchet  at  Cataraqui  (Fort  Frontenac)  in  pres- 
ence of  your  predecessor,  they  planted  the  tree 
of  peace  in  the  middle  of  the  fort,  that  it  might  be 
I  a  post  of  traders  and  not  of  soldiers.     Take  care 
that  all  the  soldiers  you  have  brought  with  you, 
I  shut  up  in  so  small  a  fort,  do  not  choke  this  tree 
iof  peace.     I  assure  you  in  the  name  of  the  Five 
Tribes  that  our  warriors  wiU  dance  the  dance  of  the 
calumet  under  its  branches;  and  that  thej^  will  sit 
qui't  on  their  mats  and  never  dig  up  the  hatchet, 
till  their  brothers,  Onontio  and  Corlaer,  separately 
or  together,  make  ready  to  attack  the  country  that 
I  the  Great  Spirit  has  given  to  our  ancestors." 

The  session  presently  closed ;  and  La  Barre  with- 


110 


LA   nAHHK   AND   TlIK   IHOQTTOIH. 


I  ION 


M 


(\ro\y  \o  hU  t(^nf,  wlioro,  nrcor(1in<i;  to  La  TTonlnn, 
he  voiiIcmI  liis  fo(»lin<jjs  in  inv(M'Jivo,  lill  nMiiiiKLnl 
tlijit  irood  iniiniKM';-!  wcm'O  not  1o  ))(*  (^xpcM'Icd  fi'oin 
nn  iKxpiois.  Hiii;  Monlli,  on  liis  p.'irl,  ontcrtniiuHl 
sonio  of  ilio  Froncli  jil.  a,  fonsl  wliicli  lie  opoiKMl  in 
p(M'son  l>v  n  (liinco.  Tlioro  was  anollier  session  in  iho 
jiflfM'iioon.  and  tlio  i(M"nis  of  p(Ni(M'  w<m'o  sot(l(M]  in 
tlio  ovonini;*.  T\h\  ivvo  of  pi^iee  was  plantcvl  aiunv; 
La  Barn^  promised  not  to  aliaek  tlie  Seneras;  mid 
Big  ]\[(Hitli,  in  spite  of  In's  former  deeljiralion,  con. 
sent(Ml  iliat  tliev  slionld  make  amends  for  llio 
pillai>;e  of  the  traders.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
declared  tliat  the  L'oqnois  wonid  figlit  the  Illinois 
to  the  death;  and  La  Barre  dared  not  n  iter  a  word 
in  hehalf  of  his  allies.  The  Onondaga  next  de- 
manded that  the  eonneil  fire  shonld  be  removed 
from  Fort  Frontenae  to  La  Fann'ne,  in  the  Iroquois 
country.  This  point  was  yielded  withont  resistance; 
and  La  Barrc  promised  to  decamp  and  set  out  for 
home  on  the  followinu;  mornino-.V 

Such  was  the  futile  and  miserable  end  of  tlie 
grand  expedition.  Even  the  promise  to  pav  for 
the  phnidered  goods  was  contemptuously  broken,' 
The  honor  rested  with  the  Iroquois.  Tliey  had 
spm-ned  the  French,  repelled  the  claims  of  the 
Euii^lish.  and  bv  act  and  word  asserted  their  inde- 
pendence  of  both. 

La  Barre  embarked  and  hastened  home  in  ad- 


1  The  articles  of  peace  will  be  found  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  238, 
Compare  ^fcmoh•  of  ^f.  dc  In  Barre  regarding  the  War  against  the  Smem, 
i7)/f/ ,  *230.     These  two  ilocnnients  do  not  agree  as  to  date,  one  placing  | 
the  council  on  the  4th  and  the  other  on  the  5th. 

2  This  appears  from  the  letters  of  Denonville,  La  Barre's  successor 


liM.] 


THK   INDIAN   ALLIES. 


Ill 


viuice  of  h'\^  mon.  TTIm  rnnij)  was  nixiun  full  of  llie 
Hick.  TUo'w  conii'adcs  pljiccd  IIkmii,  slilvciin^  with 
atriic  Ills,  on  bo.'inl  llio  lhil-l»oats  jind  canoes;  an<l 
tli(»  whole  loiTo,  soaMorcMl  and  disonlorod,  lloated 
down  llio  (Mirront,  \o  Monli'oal.  Nolliiii^  had  boon 
(riiiiu'd  l)iit  a  lliin  and  llinisy  triico,  wi(h  now 
tioiil»lt^^  juid  (laii,L^(M's  ])lainly  visihlc;  bolilnd  it..  The 
bcllcr  io  unchM'sland  their  nalMi'(%  let  ns  look  for  a 
iiioiiuMit  at  nn  e])iso(lo  of  <he  campaign. 

WIkmi  La,  l^irre  sent  messengers  with  gifts  and 
wMiiipimi  h(»lls  to  summon  the  Indians  of  the  Upper 
Liikcs  to  join  in  the  war,  his  appeal  fomid  a  eold 
rosponse.  La  Dnrantayeand  l)u  Lhut,  Frerieh  com- 
in,ni(l(MS  in  that  region,  vaiidy  urged  the  snrround- 
iii!>' tribes  to  lift  the  luitchet.  None  but  the  Tlurona 
kvould  consent,  when,  fortunately,  Nicolas  Perrot 
nnivcfl  at  ^Tichillimackinac  on  an  errand  of  trade. 
This  famous  coiireur  cJe  hois  —  a  very  different  pcr- 
gon  fi'oiii  Perrot,  governor  of  Montreal  —  was  well 
Ekill('(l  in  dealing  Avith  Indians.  Through  his  in- 
Ifliioiicc,  their  scruples  were  overcome ;  and  some 
|fivo  hundred  warriors,  Ilnrons,  Ottawas,  Ojibwas, 

^oitiiwatamies,  and  Foxes,  were  persuaded  to  cm- 

)aik  for  the  rendezvous  at  Niagara,  along  with  a 
liiiiuh'cd  or  more  Frenchmen.     The  fleet  of  canoes, 

iiiiiicrous  as  a  flock  of  blackbirds  in  autumn,  l)egan 
the  long  and  weary  voyage.    The  two  commanders 

lad  a  heavy  task.    Discipline  was  impossible.    The 

^'onch  were  scarcely  less  Avild  than  the  savages. 

^laiiy  of  them  were  painted  and  feathered  like 
pheir  red  companions,  whose  ways  they  imitated 

nth  perfect  success.     The  Indians,  on  their  part, 


!    t| 


I 


llli 


1,A    HAUUK    AM)    I'lIK    lUniil'OlH. 


[\m 


i 


wvvo  \)\\i  IimH  hoMr((Ml  lor  llu^  wotK  in  liinul.  I'm  (luy 


<\vi»M»    .MS    \\\\\y 


U   I 


or  II   i>oM\or  NKm  mm 


iho    \< 


I'Ml.'li 


lunl  lIuM  n^lvt^l  nollnng  luMlor  (lum  iIm»  Mppr;n;iii,v 
of  I'lnvvli'^h  Ir.'ulors  o\\  (lio  InKtvM,  mimI  a  snio  immc,. 
with  iho  lro«niois.  >\lnrh   shoiiM  opon  io  (Immu  iIk 


inMiKcM  ol  Nou  VorU.  H\il  llu'\  \\(M(»  lilvp  i  lul. 
»lr(Mi  \\ilh  iho  |>M'-:sion'^  of  lUiMi.  iin'onso(|iuMH.  lirklc 
nn«l  >\;i\  NNMrd.  I  lioy  slop|>(Ml  {«>  Iniui  on  llio  s\\o\v 
oi  Mirhijv.'HU  \>lhM(^  M  I'tHMU'lunMU  n<MMilonljill\  slidt 
hin\s(^lf  \>iili  liis  o\>  n  \x\\\\.  IIimo  was  .'in  ovil  owww, 
Hut  f*>r  iho  i^lVorts  o{  Porrol.  half  llio  \v.\\\\  \\o\M 
\\A\o  i\\\c\\  \\\)  \\\c  iMHiMpriso.  i\\\{\  |im(MKmI  homo, 
In  \\\o  S(r;ii(  of  PtMroil  (1um<^  wjis  sniolhor  !iimi, 
and  nnolhor  ai^Milont.  In  lirinu,-  i\{  i\  iU'vv,  an  In- 
d'\i\\\  \\o\\\h\od  his  own  hi'olhiM'.  On  thislhi*  Iriluw. 
\\\o\\  o[  tiio  womulod  n»an  proj)ostMl  io  kill  iW 
Kivnrh.  :is  boin^-  iho  iHH'asion  oi  \ho  niisi'liMiuv, 
0\wo  move  iho  skill  oi  Vcvvoi  pn^vjiilod ;  Init 
>Yhon  tliov  ront'hod  iho  Kon^-  Point  of  \ii\\\o  Mrio, 
tho  Foxos.  nl>on(  n  hundnMl  in  nnnihor.  woro  on 
tho  ]nnnl  of  dosorting  in  m  hod  v.  As  porsuMsioii 
f:\ilod.  IVrrot  triod  tho  oiToot  of  tannts. 


\ 


ou  iire 


'v>\\anls/'    ho    said    io    iho    nakod    oivw,   as  iliov 
"nnvilod  ahcMit   lnn\  with   thoir  wild   ovos  and  \o\m 


lank  hair 


Yon  do  not    kiunv  w  hat   war  is  :  von 


novor  killoil  i\  man  and  yon  novor  ato  ono.  o\ccf\\ 
thoso  that  woiv  ii'ivon    von   tiod   hand    and  loot. 
Thov  broko  out  against  him  in  a  8tonn  of  aluisoi 


ou 


=hall 


vSOO     W 


hot! 


10 r   wo   aro    mo 


u.     AVo  art 


ourl 


jjoiuir  to  tiixht  the  Iroonois;  and.  unless  von  do  v 

^^  \.  V  i  ft  • 

part,  wo  will  knock  you  in  the  head."     "  You  >vii| 


\\m. 


!<WI  1 


IHHAIMMUNrMKNT    ANM    ANOKU. 


113 


llirv 
I  \y,\\ 

u   111.- 


noMT  IiMVP  In  ;riv('  yniirM(»lvf  4  lln»  hoiiM<\"  rolorfiwl 
1','HoI.  "lor  nt  1Im»  llrsl  nvmi-  vvlMmp  you  will  nil 
iiiii  (lO  "  Mr  ,ujiinr(l  Imm  point .  'j'lu'ii-  piidn  wmm 
ihiisimI.  !iml  lor  lln»  inoniriit  llipy  \vrn«  fiili  ol  li^lil.' 
liMHHMliiilrly  nHiM*,  IIiimo  wiim  Ii'oiiIiN*  willi  llin 
()|(;i\Mi^.  who  luM'iinio  IiiiIhiIpiiI  niid  llirrnlrrnfi^^ 
iind   n'liiscd    <o    prociMMl,      Willi    miim'Ii    udo,    IIm'V 


;V(MV     |)('r:|l!H 


I<mI    I 


o 


^(>    JIH     I  Ml"     MM      IMll^ni 


Ni 


M, 


M' 


"K 


lured  l>\   IIm'  ijimIi  jiMMiirniUM*  of    Lii,    Diinmhiyn  llini 
lliivc  vc  srls  wno  IImm'c,  IoimNmI  wilh   n    proMcnl   of 


\^ 


niMM 


for  111 


(Mil, 


Tl 


i(»V  cnriMM 


I    il 


irir  ciinocM 


hv  II 


10 


i|,|^|(<alinii(<l.    I.'iiiik'IkmI  IIkmii    ii*z,Miii,    p.'mI(II(mI    Io    Mm* 

int)u(li  of    lli(»  river,  mid   IooKimI    for   llic  vchmpIh  in 

v;iin,     .\l    Kmi^'IIi    n  solihiiy  snil   npiK'nrcd    on    IIk; 

l;ik('.     Sli(»   Inonnlil  no  tz;MnH,  Init  inslmd   \i  l(di<T 


jfroiM  lilt  Hiirri*,  lidlinjr  Micni  llml  pence  whh 
lii;i(1i\  imd  (lini  lliey  miolil.  nil  p^o  Imhikv  Soino 
rf  lli'Mii  Ii.'hI  p.'iddled  nire.'idy  n.  Ilionsjind  niilcM,  in 
jtln' liopc  of  siHMii*^  lli(»  SenecjiM  linml)l(M|.  'I'Im'V 
iirncd  l)M('k  in  disjxiisl,  Idled  wilh  wnilli  niid  Hrorn 


Ipiiii^i  llie  ^'ovenioi*  nnd  nil  llie  Kreneli,  ('nnnda 
;i(l  iiKMiniMl  llie  eonlenipl,  not  only  of  (MiernioH, 
)ii(  of  nlli(»s.  'riuM'e  wns  dnn<rer  llint  these  trihoH 
lOiild  repiidinU^  th(^  l^'reiieh  nlliniKu;,  weleoiiH;  tho 
^!ii;iisli  Ir.'iders,  ninke  ])en('(;  ni  ntiy  pri(M3  with  i\Hi 


rotiuoi,!.  niid  enrry  their   heaver  skin.s  to  Alhnny 

^lo;l(l  of  Monlrenl. 

The  livjily  lunde  nt  La  Kninine  was  greot(;d  vviili 
nitimudy  through  all  the  colony.  The  governor 
innd,  iiowever,  a  comforter  in  the  Jesuit  Lainbcr- 

'  f.ii  Potlin-ir,  11.  \M  {(•(!.  17*22).  IVrrot  hiiUHelf,  in  his  MrBurs  dtn 
waijis,  hx'wWy  mentions  the  iniiident. 

8 


Hi 


LA    UAKUIO   AND  TIIK   lUOC^lHMS. 


IIOH 


, 


vill(»,  wlu)  slooil  fnsl  ill  llic  position  wliicli  lie  liml 
held  fi'om  lilt'  hot^infiinj.!;.  He  \vrol<»  lo  \a\  Ilnrn.; 
**  Voii  dosiM've  llu*  (illo  of  siivioiir  of  \\\v  coiinirv 
for    iiiMlvin.!;'   poiUM*   a\    so   erilicjil   m    lime.      In  ili,. 


eonJilioM    in  w 


hiel 


I    voiir  iirmv  wns,  von  con 


I.I 


lint 


IiiiM'  ihlviHU'ed  iiilo  llu»  Sen(»e;i  coiinlrv  witliout 
uller  (lef(».'il.  Tlie  Simum'iis  IiikI  double  palisadiN, 
Nvliii'li  e«)nld  not  Iimvc  Ixmmi  foretMl  willioiil  i^ivat 
loss.  'riuMT  pljm  wjis  lo  ke(»p  llutu*  liimditMl  nun 
inside,  nnd  lo  piMpetnnllv  liMiiiss  von  willi  Iwclw 
ImndriMl  olluM's.  All  llie  Iroipiois  wtMV  lo  ('elhyt 
los;elluM'.  :\nd  lin*  onlv  ill  llu*  l(\«;'s  o\'  vonr  peop 
so  ns  lo  nmshM'  llieni,  nnd  bnrn  lluMn  nl  llioirl 
l(Msnn\  and  IIhmi.  jifler  liavini;'  lliiniUMl  llieir  iiiiiii- 
bors  hv  M  hundred   nnihnseades  in    llu»  woods  iimi 

a 

grass,  to  pnrsno   \on  in    vonr  relnnit  i^ven  lo  Moii- 
tn^al.  and   spreaii  desolation    around    it."' 

La  Uanv  was  i^roatlv  pleased  wiih  this  l(>tior, 
and  niado  iiso  of  it  lo  instify  himself  to  tliel 
kinir.  His  oolloairno.  ^[(HiIos.  c)n  Iho  othor  h;iiiil, 
doelarod  tliat  Lambors  illo.  anxions  to  niak(^  iavo! 
Nvitli   tho    o'Dvornor,    had    writ  ton    onlv    what   U\ 

K^  ft 

l^arro  wished  to  hear.     The  intendant  also  infoiiii? 


\\ 


10  nun 


ister   that  La   Barr 


0  s  exenses  are  a  iiuit 


protonoe 


that 


ever\ 


bod 


V  IS   as 


tonished   and 


gustod  with  him  ;   that   the   sickness  of    the  troo[i'| 
was  his  own  faidt.  boeanse  he  kept  them  enoanipu 
on  wot   ii'round    for  an   nnoonsoionable  lonu'th  oil 

*■  i 

time ;    that   Biir  Mouth    shamofidlv  befooled  aiiii| 
bullied  him  ;  that,  after  the  council  at  La  Famine 
he  lost   his  wit-s.  and  went   off  in  a  friirht ;  that, 


1  LamhcTTuU.  to  La  Bane,  9  Oct.,  16S4,  iu  X  >'.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  'M 


l(I.s|, 


LA    HAUIir,   KKCALLKI). 


115 


f<iii('(»  llic   n»fiirii   of   lli(»  ln)(»|)M,  \hv  ofTiccrM  linvo 
imriih    ('\|)I('ss(mI    ilicir   (Mmlciiipl.   lor    liiiii  ;    mikI 


thill 


li(» 


|)ro| 


)l(>  won 


I<1    i 


l!IV(>    I'IS(MI    ntiiiiiist.    Illlll,  I 


he.  Mi'iil<'M,  Ii!h1  not  Ink*-!!  iiM-iisiircs  (o  ((iiict  llioiii, 


Thi'st'i  ^villi   m.'iiiy  oHht  (iIijii«;('s,  IU'w  ncross  ilio 

,^(>;l    IVOIII     IIm;     |)(MI     oI'     tlir.    iilj(Mi(lMllt. 

The  next  sliip  iVom  I'liiiicc  hroiiglil  (lie;  follow- 
K'tlcr  'from  llic  kin;;- :  — 


'"I 

MoNSiKi'ii  ino  i,A  lUituK, —  Iliivlii^  hvvu  iiifoinu'd  tlmt 
Yoiir  vcuiH  (!•*  not.  iicriiiit  you  to  Kiipporl.  (lui  t'iilijL^iK'N  iiiH('|iiir!il)lu 
ti'iiiii  yoiit' ollic^!  of  ^<>V(M'ii()r  niid  liiiilciiuiit /^cncnil  in  ('iiiiiidii, 
]  send  MXi  lliis  Irltn*  to  M('<|ii:iiii(  you  lli:il  I  Iimvc  H<-l<'(tl(Ml  Mon- 
piiMinlc  |)('ii()nvillo  to  Hcrvo  in  your  |)I:ic(^ ;  and  my  IntrMitiou  Ih 
lliat,  oil  Ills  jirriviik  al'lcM*  n'siijuiujr  Jo  lilui  tin;  <'onuuiind,  with 
all  instructions  coucurniu;^   it,  you  tsndturk   for  your  n^turn  to 


1'r.ii 


ICO. 


Louii 


La  I^tiro  HJiiled  forliomo;  and  ilio  ManiniH  de 
DonoHviHo,  ti  pious  colonel  of  dragoons,  asHiiined 
the  viiciiut  ollico. 


>  Heulcs  au  Minislrf,  10  Oct.,  1084. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


1G85-1687. 


DENONVTLLK    AND  T")ON0!AN. 


f! 


Trovtii.fs  or   THK   Nkw    (Iovi'knor, —  llis    CnAHACTKn.  —  Knomji 

l^lVVMSY    —  1nT1U<;11.»    OV    1)(>N<!AN. —  I'nOT.ISII   (^l,AIM«. —  A   ])\f 

lOMATlO       Dl'KL.  —  OVKUT       AcTS. Ax<?Kn       OP       DlCNONVIIU  - 

JaMK}*  II.  CHKCKS  l)i>XUAN.  —  DkNONVILLK  KMHOLDKNiCI).  —  SlUlFI 

IN  THK  NouTii. — lhM>soN'»  lUv.  —  ATri-.Mrri',i>  rAcirioAHON.- 
AnTiFjrr,  of  Dknonvit.i.k.  —  Wk  vmvawuv.h  fok  Wau. 


Dexonyille    oiubarkod    at   Rochollo    in    Jimo, 
^vi(h  his  w'do  aiui   a  part   of   his  family.     Saint- 
Vallior.  llio  dost iiunl  bishop,  was  in  tlie  same  vos- 
sol  ;  and  tho  squadron  oarriod  five  hundred  soldioi^.l 
of  uhoni   a   hundred  and  iiftv  died  of  fever  audi 
scurvy  on  iho  >vay.     Saint- ValHer  speaks  in  glo^v- 
ing  terms  of  the  new  governor.     "  lie  spent  noaiijl 
nil  his  time  in  prayer  and   the  reading  of  liood 
books.     The  Psalms  of  David  were  always  in  1il< 
hands.     In  all  the  vova^'e,  I   never  saw  him  di 
any  thimr  wromx ;  and  there  was  nothini]:  in  lii^l 
words  or  acts  which  did  not  show  a  solid  virtuel 
ami    a    consunnnate    prudence,   as   well    in   tlie 
duties  of  the  Christian  life  as  in  the  wdsdom  oi| 
this  world."  ^ 

When  thev  landed,  the  nnns  of  the  Hi^tel-Dieii| 

1  Saint- Vallier,  Eiat  Pr<&ent  de  PEglise,  4  (Quebec,  1866). 


1085. 


TIIOUHLKH  OF  DICNONVILLK. 


117 


wore  ovorwIic'liiKM]  with  llio  sick.  "  Not  only  our 
hulls  I)ii<'  our  c.luircli,  our  <^ra,tijiry,  our  lion-yard, 
niid  every  conuM*  of  lli(»  liospiljil  vvlicro  we  could 
ninko  room,  wore  (IIUmI  willi  tlioni."' 

Much  wjis  ox])eole(l  of  Dononvillo.  He  was  to 
ivpnir  I  lie  inisohiof  wroii^^ht  hy  his  predecessor, 
and  n\sloro  the  colony  <o  ])oace,  strength,  and 
sociirily.  The  king  had  stigmatized  La  Barrc's 
trcaly  with  the  iioqnois  jjs  disgraceful,  nnd  cx- 
pn'ss(Ml  indignjition  jit  his  nhandonment  of  the 
IlliiKHs  jdlies.  All  this  was  now  to  he  changed  ; 
but  it  was  easier  to  give  the  order  at  Versjiillos 
thiiii  to  execute  it  in  Canada.  Denonville's  difli- 
cullics  wore  great;  and  his  means  of  overcoming 
tluMu  wore  small.  What  he  most  needed  was  more 
troops  and  more  money.  The  Senecas,  insolent 
and  defiant,  were  still  attacking  the  Illinois;  the 
tiibosof  the  north-v  est  wore  angry,  contemptuous, 
and  disalTocted  ;  the  English  of  New  York  were  urg- 
inn;cl;uiHs  to  the  whole  country  south  of  the  Great 
Lakes,  and  to  a  controlling  share  in  all  tlie  western 
fur  trade;  while  the  English  of  Hudson's  Bay  were 
I  competing  for  the  tradic  of  the  northern  tribes, 
and  the  English  of  New  England  wer-'  seizing  upon 
the  fisheries  of  Acadia,  and  now  and  then  making 
piratical  descents  upon  its  coast.  The  great  ques- 
tion lay  between  New  York  and  Canada.  Which 
|of  these  two  should  gain  mastery  in  the  west  ? 

Dcnonville,  like  Frontenac,  was  a  man  of  the 
larniy  and  the  court.  As  a  soldier,  he  had  the  ex- 
[perience  of  thirty  years  of  service ;  and  he  was  in 

A  Juchereau,  Hdtel-Dieu,  283. 


118 


DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN. 


ri686 


M 


high  repute,  not  only  for  piety,  but  for  probity  and 
honor.  He  was  devoted  to  the  Jesuits,  an  ardent 
servant  of  the  king,  a  lover  of  authority,  filled  with 
the  instinct  of  subordination  and  order,  and,  in 
short,  a  type  of  the  ideas,  religious,  political,  and 
socipl,  then  dominant  in  France.  He  was  greatlj 
distressed  at  the  disturbed  condition  of  the  colony; 
while  the  state  of  the  settlements,  scattered  in 
broken  lines  for  two  or  three  hundred  miles 
along  the  St.  Lawrence,  seemed  to  him  an  invita- 
tion to  destruction.  "  If  we  have  a  war,'*  he  wrote, 
"  nothing  can  save  the  country  but  a  miracle  of 
God." 

Nothing  was  more  likely  than  war.  Intrigues 
were  on  foot  between  ilie  Senecas  and  the  tribes 
of  the  lakes,  which  threatened  to  render  the  appeal 
to  arms  a  necessity  to  the  French.  Some  of  tbe 
Hurons  of  Michillimackinac  were  bent  on  allying 
themselves  with  the  English.  "  They  like  the 
manners  of  the  French,"  wrote  Denonville ;  "but 
they  like  the  cheap  goods  of  the  English  better." 
The  Senecas,  in  collusion  with  several  Huron  chiefs, 
had  captured  a  considerable  number  of  that  tribe 
ind  of  the  Ottawas.  The  scheme  was  that  these 
prisoners  should  be  released,  on  condition  that  the 
lake  tribes  should  join  the  Senecas  and  repudiate 
their  alliance  with  the  French.^  The  governor  of  | 
New  lork  favored  this  intrigue  to  the  utmost. 

Denonville  was  quick  to  see  that  the  peril  of  thai 
colony  rose,  not  from  the  Iroquois  alone,  but  iroiii| 
the  English  of  New  York,  who  prompted  them. 

1  Denonville  au  Ministre,  12  Juin,  1686. 


;  185-80.] 


NATIONAL  RIVALRY. 


119 


Doiii^nn  imderstoofl  the  situation.  He  saw  that 
the  French  aimed  at  mastering  the  whole  interior 
of  the  continent.  They  had  estabhshed  themselves 
in  the  valley  of  the  Illinois,  had  built  a  fort  on  the 
lower  Mississippi,  and  were  striving  to  entrench 
themselves  at  its  mouth.  They  occupied  the  Great 
Lakes;  and  it  was  already  evident  that,  as  soon  as 
their  resources  should  permit,  they  would  seize  the 
avenues  of  communication  throughout  the  \7est.  In 
short,  the  grand  scheme  of  French  colonization  had 
bc^'im  to  declare  itself.  Dons:an* entered  the  lists 
against  them.  If  his  policy  should  prevail,  New 
France  would  dwindle  to  a  feeble  province  on  the 
St.  Lawrence  :  if  the  French  policy  should  prevail, 
the  English  colonies  would  remain  a  narrow  strip 
along'  the  sea.  Dongan's  causie  was  that  of  all 
those  colonies;  but  they  all  stood  aloof,  and  left 
him  to  wage  the  strife  alone.  Canada  was  matched 
against  New  York,  or  rather  against  the  gover- 
nor of  New  York.  The  population  of  the  English 
colony  was  larger  than  that  of  its  rival ;  but,  ex- 
cept the  fur  traders,  few  of  the  settlers  cared  much 
for  the  questions  at  issue. ^  Dongan's  chief  diffi- 
culty, however,  rose  from  the  relations  of  the  French 
and  English  kings.  Louis  XIY.  gave  Denonville 
an  unhesitating  support.  James  II.,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  for  a  time  cautious  to  timidity.  The 
two  monarchs  were  closely  united.  Both  hated 
constitutional  liberty,  and  both  held  the  same 
I  principles  of  supremacy  in  church  and  state ;  but 

'  Now  York  had  about  18,000  inhabitants  (Brodhead,  Hht.  N.  Y.,  II 
1 458).    Canada,  by  the  census  of  1085,  had  12.263. 


120 


DENONVILLE  AND  DONG  AN. 


11085-86 


Louis  was  triumphant  and  powerful,  while  James, 
in  conflict  with  his  subjects,  was  in  constant  need 
of  his  great  ally,  and  dared  not  oifend  him. 

The  royal  instructions  to  Denonville  enjoined 
him  to  humble  the  Iroquois,  sustain  the  allies  of 
the  colony,  oppose  the  schemes  of  Dongan,  and 
treat  him  as  an  enemy,  if  he  encroached  on  Frencli 
territory.  At  the  same  time,  the  French  ambassa- 
dor  at  the  English  court  was  directed  to  demand 
from  James  II.  precise  orders  to  the  governor  of 
New  York  for  a  complete  change  of  conduct  in 
regard  to  Canada  and  the  Iroquois.^  Cut  Dongan, 
like  the  French  governors,  was  not  easily  con- 
trolled. In  the  absence  of  money  and  troops,  lie 
intrigued  busily  with  his  Indian  neighbors.  "  The 
artifices  of  the  English,"  wrote  Denonville,  "  have 
reached  such  a  point  that  it  would  be  better  if  they 
attacked  us  openly  and  burned  our  settlements, 
instead  of  instigating  the  Iroquois  against  us  for 
our  destruction.  I  know  beyond  a  particle  of 
doubt  that  M.  Dongan  caused  all  the  five  Iroquois j 
nations  to  be  assembled  last  spring  at  Orange  I 
[Albany),  in  order  to  excite  them  against  us,  by 
telling  them  publicly  that  I  meant  to  declare  war 
against  them."  He  says,  further,  that  Dongan 
supplies  them  with  arms  and  ammunition,  incites] 
them  to  attack  the  colony,  and  urges  them  to  de- 
liver Lamberville,  the  priest  at  Onondaga,  into  liisl 
hands.  "  He  has  sent  people,  at  the  same  time,! 
to  our  Montreal  Indians  to  entice  them  over  to 

1  Seignelay  to  Barillon,  French  Ambassador  at  London,  in  N>  Y.  Ci\ 
Docs.,  IX.  269. 


1685-86.] 


INTRIGUES  OF  DENONVILLE. 


121 


him,  promising  them  missionaries  to  instruct 
them,  and  assuring  them  that  he  woukl  prevent 
the  introduction  of  brandy  into  their  villages.  All 
these  intrigues  have  given  me  not  a  little  trouble 
throughout  the  summer.  M.  Dongan  has  written 
to  me,  and  I  have  answered  him  as  a  man  may 
do  who  v/ishes  to  dissimulate  and  does  not  feel 
strong  enough  to  get  angry."  ' 

Denonville,  accordingly,  while  biding  his  time, 
made  use  of  counter  intrigues,  and,  by  means  of 
the  useful  Lamberville,  freely  distributed  secret 
or  "  underground  "  presents  among  the  Iroquois 
chiefs ;  while  the  Jesuit  Engelran  was  busy  at 
Michillimackinac  in  adroit  and  vigorous  efforts  to 
prevent  the  alienation  of  the  Ilurons,  Ottawas,  and 
other  lake  tribes.  The  task  w^as  difficult;  and, 
filled  with  anxiety,  the  father  came  down  to  Mon- 
treal to  see  the  governor,  '•  and  communicate  to 
me,"  writes  Denonville,  "the  deplorable  state  of 
affairs  with  our  allies,  whom  we  can  no  longer 
trust,  owing  to  the  discredit  into  which  we  have 
fallen  among  them,  and  from  which  we  cannot 
recover,  except  by  gaining  some  considerable 
advantage  over  the  Iroquois ;  who,  as  I  have  had 
the  honor  to  inform  you,  have  labored  incessantly 
I  since  last  autumn  to  rob  us  of  all  our  allies,  by 
using  every  means  to  make  treaties  with  them 
I  independently  of  us.  You  may  be  assured,  Mon- 
[seigneur,  that  the  English  are  the  chief  cause  of 
[the  arrogance  and  insolence  of  the  Iroquois,  adroitly 
[using  them  to  extend  the  limits  of  their  dominion, 

1  Denonville  a  Stignelay,  8  Nov.,  1686- 


122 


DENONVILLE   AND  DONGAN. 


11685 


and  Tiniting  with  them  as  one  nation,  insomucl 
that  the  English  claims  include  no  less  than  tlii 
Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie,  the  region  of  Saglna 
[Michigan),  the  country  of  the  Hnrons,  and  all  tlii 
country  in  the  direction  of  the  Mississippi." ' 

The  most  pressing  danger  was  the  defection  oj 
the  lake  tribes.  "  In  spite  of  the  king's  edicts,] 
pursues  Denonville,  "  the  coiireurs  de  hois  liavJ 
carried  a  hundred  barrels  of  brandy  to  Micliilli- 
mackinac  in  a  single  year;  and  their  libertinism 
and  debauchery  have  gone  to  such  an  extremitj 
that  it  is  a  wonder  the  Indians  have  not  mas- 
sacred them  all  to  save  themselves  from  tlieii 
violence  and  recover  their  wives  and  daughten 
from  them.  This,  Monseigneur,  joined  to  ouf| 
failure  in  the  last  war,  has  drawn  upon  us  si 
contempt  among  all  the  tribes  that  there  is  but  one 
way  to  regain  our  credit,  which  is  to  humble  the 
Iroquois  by  our  unaided  strength,  without  asking 
the  help  of  our  Indian  allies."  ^  And  he  begs 
hard  for  a  strong  reinforcement  of  troops. 

Without  doubt,  Denonville  was  right  in  think- 
ing that  the  chastising  of  the  Iroquois,  or  at  least 
the  Senecas,  the  head  and  front  of  mischief,  Avas 
a  matter  of  the  last  necessity.  A  crushing  blow 
dealt  against  them  would  restore  French  prestige, 
paralyze  English  intrigue,  save  the  Illinois  from 
destruction,  and  confirm  the  wavering  allies  of 
Canada.  Meanwhile,  matters  grew  from  bad  to 
worse.     In  the  north  and  in  the  west,  there  was 


1  Denonville  a  Seignelay,  12  Juin,  1686. 

2  Ibid. 


k685-80.] 


DIPLOMATIC  DUEL. 


123 


jcarcoly  a  tribe  in  the  French  interest  which  was 
lot  cither  attacked  by  the  Senecas  or  cajoled  by 
|;}iein  into  alHances  hostile  to  the  colony.  "  We 
nay  set  down  Canada  as  lost,"  again  wiites  De- 
loiiville,  "  if  we  do  not  make  war  next  year  ;  and 
ret,  in  our  present  disordered  state,  w^ar  is  the 
[iiost  dangerous  thing  in  the  world.  Nothing  can 
gave  us  but  the  sending  out  of  troops  and  the 
milding  of  forts  and  blockhouses.  Yet  I  dare  not 
)ogin  to  build  them  ;  for,  if  I  do,  it  wull  bring 
lown  all  the  Iroquois  upon  us  before  we  are  in  a 
joiiflltion  to  fight  thexU." 

Nevertheless,  he    made   what   preparations   he 

Boukl,  begging  all   the  while  for   more   soldiers, 

mtl  carrying  on  at  the  same  time  a  correspond- 

;nce  with   his   rival,   Dongan.     At   first,    it   waa 

courteous  on  both  sides ;  but  it  soon  grew  pungent, 

md  at  last  acrid.     Denonville  wrote  to  announce 

lis  arrival,  and  Dongan  replied  in  French :  "  Sir, 

have  had  the  honor  of  receiving  your  letter,  and 

reatly  rejoice  at  having  so  good  a  neighbor,  w^hose 

[reputation  is  so  w^idely  spread  that  it  has  antici- 

Ipated  your  arrival.     I  have  a  very  high  respect 

[for  the  king  of   France,  of  whose  bread  I  have 

eaten  so  much  that  I  feel  under  an  obligation  to 

prevent  whatever  can  give  the  least  umbrage  to 

pur  masters.     M.   de  la  Barre  is  a  very  worthy 

gentleman,  but  he  has  not  written  to  me  in  a  civil 

[and  befitting  style."  ^ 

Denonville  replied  with  many  compliments  :  "  1 
I  know  not  what  reason  you  may  have  had  to  be 

'  Dongan  to  Denonville,  13  Oct.,  1685,  in  iV.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  292 


124 


DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN. 


Ii08;>^ 


dissatisfied  with  M.  de  la  Barre ;  but  I  know  very 
well  that  I  should  reproach  myself  all  my  life  if  I 
could  fail  to  render  to  you  all  the  civility  and 
attention  due  to  a  person  of  so  great  rank  and 
merit.  In  regard  to  the  affair  in  which  M.  de  la 
Barre  interfered,  as  you  write  me,  I  presume  you 
refer  to  his  quarrel  wi  i  the  Senecas.  As  to  tlmt, 
Monsieur,  I  believe  you  understand  the  character 
of  that  nation  well  enough  to  perceive  that  it  is 
not  easy  to  live  in  friendship  with  a  people  ^vlio 
have  neither  religion,  nor  honor,  nor  subordina- 
tion. The  king,  my  master,  entertains  affection 
and  friendship  for  this  country  solely  through  zeal 
for  the  establishment  of  religion  here,  and  the  sup- 
port and  protection  of  the  missionaries  whose  ardor 
in  preaching  the  faith  leads  them  to  expose  them- 
selves to  the  brutalities  and  persecutions  of  the 
most  ferocious  of  tribes.  You  know  better  than  I 
what  fatigues  and  torments  they  have  suffered  for 
the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ.  I  know  your  heart  is 
penetrated  with  the  glory  of  that  name  wliich 
makes  Hell  tremble,  and  at  the  mention  of  wliich 
all  the  powers  of  Heaven  fall  prostrate.  Shall  we 
be  so  unhappy  as  to  refuse  them  our  master's  pro- 
tection? You  are  a  man  of  rank  and  abounding 
in  merit.  You  love  our  holy  religion.  Can  we 
not  then  come  to  an  understanding  to  sustain  our 
missionaries  by  keeping  those  fierce  tribes  in  re- 
spect and  fear  ?  "  ^ 

This   specious   appeal  for   maintaining   Frencli 
Jesuits  on  English  territory,  or  what  was  claimed 

'  Denonville  to  Dongan,  5  Juin,  1686,  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  456 


1080] 


DIPLOMATIC  DUEL. 


12eO 


as  such,  was  lost  on  Dongaii,  Catholic  as  he  was. 
He  regarded  them  as  dangerous  political  enemies, 
and  (lid  his  best  to  expel  them,  and  put  English 
priests  in  their  place.  Anotiier  of  his  plans  was 
to  build  a  fort  at  Niagara,  to  exclude  the  French 
from  Lake  Erie.  Denonville  entertained  the  same 
purpose,  in  order  to  exclude  the  English ;  and  he 
watched  eagerly  the  moment  to  execnte  it.  A 
rumor  of  the  scheme  was  brought  to  Dongan  by 
one  of  the  French  coitreiirs  de  bois,  avIio  often 
deserted  to  Albany,  where  they  were  welcomed 
and  encouraged.  The  English  governor  was  ex- 
ceedingly wroth.  He  had  written  before  in  French 
out  of  complaisance.  He  now  dispensed  with 
ceremony,  and  wrote  in  his  own  peculiar  English : 
"  I  am  informed  that  you  intend  to  build  a  fort  at 
Ohniagero  (Niagara)  on  this  side  of  the  lake, 
within  my  Master's  territoryes  without  question. 
I  cannot  beleev  that  a  person  that  has  your 
reputation  in  the  world  would  follow  the  steps  of 
Monsr.  Labarr,  and  be  ill  advized  by  some  inter- 
ested persons  in  your  Governt.  to  make  disturbance 
between  our  Masters  subjects  in  those  parts  of  the 
world  for  a  little  pelttree  [peltry).  I  hear  one  of 
the  Fathers  [the  Jesuit  Jean  de  LamberviUe)  is 
gone  to  you,  and  th'other  that  stayed  [Jacques  de 
Lamherville)  I  have  sent  for  him  here  lest  the  In- 
dians should  insult  over  him,  tho'  it's  a  thousand 
pittys  that  those  that  have  made  such  progress  in 
the  service  of  God  should  be  disturbed,  and  that 
'7  the  fault  of  those  that  laid  the  foundation 
of  Christianity  amongst  these  barbarous  people  ; 


120 


DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN. 


11C80 


setting  apart  the  station  I  am  in,  I  am  as  much 
Monsr.  Dos  Novilles  {DeiionviUes)  hmnble  servaiu 
as  any  friend  he  has,  and  will  omniit  no  0{)[)ur. 
tunlty  of  uKinife.sting  the  same.  Sir,  your  humblt' 
servant,  Thomas  Dongan."  ^ 

Denonville  in  reply  denied  that  he  meant  (c 
build  a  fort  at  Niagara,  and  warned  Dongan  nut  to 
believe  the  stories  told  him  by  Freneh  deserters. 
"  In  order,"  he  wrote,  "  that  we  may  live  on  a 
good  understanding,  it  vvonld  be  well  that  a  gentle- 
man of  your  charaeter  should  not  give  protection 
to  all  the  I'ogues,  vagabonds,  and  thieves  who 
desert  us  and  seek  refuge  with  you,  and  who,  to 
gain  your  favor,  think  they  cannot  do  better  than 
tell  nonsensical  stories  about  us,  which  they  will 
continue  to  do  so  long  as  you  listen  to  them."  ^ 

The  rest  of  the  letter  was  in  terms  of  civility,  to 
which  Dongan  returned  :  ''  Beleive  lUe  it  is  mucli 
joy  to  have  soe  good  a  neighbour  of  soe  excelleut 
qualifications  and  temper,  and  of  a  humour  alto- 
gether differing  from  Monsieur  de  la  Barre,  your 
predecessor,  who  was  so  furious  and  hasty  and 
very  much  addicted  to  great  w^ords,  as  if  I  had  bin 
to  have  bin  frighted  by  them.   For  my  part,  I  shall 


take  all  immaginable  care  that  the  Fathers  who 
preach  the  Holy  Gospell  to  those  Indians  over 
whom  I  have  power  bee  not  in  the  least  ill  treated, 
and  upon  that  very  accompt  have  sent  for  one  of 
each  nation  to  come  to  me,  and  then  those  beastly 
crimes  you  reproove  shall  be  checked   severely, 


1  Dongan  to  Denonville,  22  Mnj/,  1686,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  465. 
*  Denonville  a  Dongan,  20  Juin,  1686. 


•1 


DIPLOMATIC  DUEL. 


127 


and  all  my  enrlevours  used  to  siir press  their  filthy 
(Iriiiikciinesse,  disorders,  debiuiehes,  warring,  and 
qiianvis,  and  whatsoever  doth  obstruct  the  growth 
anil  enlargement  of  the  Christian  faith  amongst 
tlose  people."  lie  then,  in  reply  to  an  api)lieation 
J  Di'iionville,  promised  to  give  up  *'  runawayes.'* ' 
riomise  was  not  followed  by  performance  ;  and 
he  still  favored  to  the  utmost  the  truant  French- 
mon  who  made  Albany  their  resort,  and  often 
brought  with  them  most  valuable  information. 
This  drew  an  angry  letter  from  Denonville.  "  You 
warn  so  good,  Monsieur,  as  to  tell  me  that  you 
>v()iil(l  give  up  all  the  deserters  who  have  lied  to 
vou  to  escape  chastisement  for  their  knavery.  As 
most  of  them  are  bankrupts  and  thieves,  I  hope 
that  they  will  give  you  reason  to  repent  having 
harbored  them,  and  that  your  merchants  who  em- 
ploy tliein  will  be  punished  for  trusting  such 
rascals."  ^  To  the  great  wrath  of  the  French  gov- 
ernor, Dongan  persisted  in  warning  the  Iroquois 
that  he  meant  to  attack  them.  "  You  proposed, 
xMonsieur,"  writes  Denonville,  "  to  submit  every 
thing  to  the  decision  of  our  masters.  Neverthe- 
less, your  emissary  to  the  Onondagas  told  all  the 
Five  Nations  in  your  name  to  pillage  and  make 
war  on  us."  Next,  he  berates  his  rival  for  furnish- 
ing the  Indians  with  rum.  "  Think  you  that 
religion  will  make  any  progress,  while  your  traders 
supply  the  savages  in  abundance  with  the  liquor 
which,  as  you  ought  to  know,  converts  them  into 
demons  and  their  lodges  into  counterparts  of  Hell  ? " 

1  I)on;jan  to  Derionmlle,  26  July,  1686,  in  N.  Y.  Col  Docs.,  III.  460. 
*  Denonville  a  Dongan,  1  Oct.,  1686. 


!   1 


!   i 


128 


DENONVILLE   AND  DONGAN. 


[10% 


im.] 


(( 


Cerf.'ilnly,"  retorts  Dongiin,  "our  Rum  doth  us 
little  iiurt  as  your  Brandy,  and,  in  the  opinion  of 
Christians,  is  much  more  wholesome."  ' 

Eacli  tried  incessantly  to  out-general  the  otlior. 
DenonvIIle,  steadfast  in  his  plan  of  controlling^  the 
passes  oi'  the  western  country,  had  projected  i"ort>. 
not  only  at  Niagara,  but  also  at  Toronto,  on  Lake 
Erie,  and  on  the  Strait  of  Detroit.  Tie  thought 
that  a  time  had  come  when  he  could,  without  rush. 
ness,  secure  this  last  important  passage ;  and  he 
sent  an  order  to  Du  Lhut,  who  was  then  at  Mic 
limacikinac,  to  occupy  it  with  fifty  coiireurs  ck 
hois.^  That  enterprising  chief  accordingly  re 
paired  to  Detroit,  and  built  a  stockade  at  the  outlet 
of  Lake  Huron  on  the  western  side  of  the  stiaiLi 
It  Avas  not  a  moment  too  soon.  The  year  before, 
Dongan  had  sent  a  party  of  armed  traders  in  eloveii| 
canoes,  commanded  by  Johannes  Roosebooiu, 
Dutchman  of  Albany,  to  carry  English  goods 
the  upper  lakes.  They  traded  successfully,  Avii 
ning  golden  opinions  from  the  Indians,  who  begi' 
them  to  come  every  year  ;  and,  though  Denonvi 
sent  an  officer  to  stop  them  at  Niagara,  thej 
turned  in  triumph,  after  an  absence  of  three  montli;| 
A  larger  expedition  was  organized  in  the  autumn 
1686.  Rooseboom  again  set  out  for  the  lakes  n 
twenty  or  more  canoes.  He  was  to  winter  ainoi 
the  Senecas,  and  wait  the  arrival  of  Major  ]i| 
Gregory,  a  Scotch  officer,  who  was  to  leave  Albai 


in  tho 
un'iici] 
ronip.'ii 
tiv;\ty 

M-  Fvii 

Dcno 

^hiuJ  :\k( 

WUVlUiT  i 

mhM  oa 
nmke  n.s 

lii.s  tiuh 

.'tvo  a  mi 

oit  and  I 

hJk'ri^  in 

'oi'so  am] 
lio/'s 

'"'/N'mac 
tter  to  fj 
thelv  i 

Iknl:  '^ 
the  Fi^Q 
lis.     l^ 

^  prefen 
plunder 
e  that  G 
m\d  fop 
hut  ha 


ngai 


1  Dongan  to  Denonvilh,  1  Dec,  1686,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  462. 

2  Dennnville  a  Du  Lhut,  6  Jnin,  1686. 
'  Brodheatl,  Hist,  of  New  York,  II.  429;  DenonviUe  au  Mimstre,Sl 

1686. 


^'■odlicacl, 

'^''"onvi/le  au  I 
^^<  15  Oct] 


m.] 


DIPLOMATIC  DUEL. 


129 


in  tho  sprin<^  with  fifty  moii,  take  command  of  the 
unltt'il  parties,  and  advance  to  Lake  Huron,  ac- 
roiiipniicd  hy  a  hand  of  Ii'ocjiiois,  to  form  a  general 
ticiitv  of  trade  and  allianee  with  the  trihes  claimed 

4 

hv  Friincc  as  her  sid)je('ts.' 

Deiionville  was  hesido  himself  at,  the  news.     ITe 

ji;i(l  alrondy  nrged   upon  Louis  XIV.  the  policy  of 

Ibiivlni,^  the  colony  of  New  York,  which  he  thought 

miirlit  easily  he  done,  and  which,  as  he  said,  "  would 

Inmko  us  masters  of  the  Iroquois  without  a  war." 

'his  ti?ne  he  wrote  in   a  less  pacific   mood  :    "  I 

lavc  a  mind  to  go  straight  to  Alhany,  storm  their 

|ort.  and  hurn  every  thing."*     And  he  heggcd  for 

)l(liers  more  earnestly  than  ever.     "  Things  grow 

rorse  and  worse.     The  English  stir  np  the  Iro- 

[iiois  against    us,   and   send    parties   to    Michilli- 

lackiiuic  to  rob   us  of   our  trade.     It  would  be 

jtter  to  declare  war  against  them  than  to  perish 

their  intrigues."  ^ 

He  complained  bitterly  to  Dongan,  and  Dongau 

)lie(l :  "  I  beleeve  it  is  as  lawf ull  for  the  English 

the  French  to  trade  amongst  the   remotest  Tn- 

iiis.    I  desire  you  to  send  me  word  wdio  it  was 

it  pretended  to  have  my  orders  for  the  Indians 

Iplunder  and  fight  y^u.     That  is  as  false  as  'tis 

|e  that  God  is  in  heaven.     I  have  desired  you 

send  for  the  deserters.     I  know  not  who  they 

but  had  rather  such  Rascalls  and  Bankrouts, 


Jrotllicad,  Flist.  of  New  York,  II.  443;  Commission  ofMc(jfrrgory,ia 

Col.  Dors.,  IX.  318. 

')emnvi!le  an  Ministre,  16  Nov.,  1686. 

Xhid.,  15  Oct.,  1686 


130 


DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN. 


fl687, 


as  you  call  them,  were  amongst  their  own  conntry. 


"  1 


men. 

He  h;vl,  nevertheless,  turned  them  to  good 
account;  for,  as  the  English  knew  nothing  of 
western  geography,  they  employed  these  Frerich 
bush-rangers  ^"o  guide  their  trading  parties.  De- 
no  .wille  sent  orders  to  Du  Lhut  to  shoot  as  many 
of  them  as  he  could  catch. 

Dongan  presently  received  despatches  from  the 
Euii^lish  court,  which  showed  him  the  necessitv 
of  caution ;  and,  when  next  he  wrote  to  his  rival, 
it  was  with  a  chastened  pen :  "  I  hope  you.  Ex- 
cellency will  be  so  kinde  as  not  desire  or  seeke  anv 
correspondence  with  our  Indians  of  this  side  of 
the  Great  lake  {Ontario):  if  they  doe  amisse  to 
any  of  your  Governmt.  and  you  make  it  kno^yn 
to  me,  you  shall  have  all  justice  done."  He  com- 
plnined  mildly  that  the  Jesuits  were  luring  their 
Iroquois  converts  to  Canada;  "and  you  must 
pardon  me  if  I  tell  you  that  is  not  the  right  way 
to  keepe  fair  correspondence.  I  am  daily  expect- 
ing Religious  men  from  England,  which  I  intend 
to  put  amongst  those  five  nations.  I  desire  you 
would  order  Monsr.  de  Lamberville  that  soe  long 
as  he  stayes  amongst  those  people  he  would  meddle 
only  with  the  affairs  belonging  to  his  function 
Sir,  I  send  you  some  Oranges,  hearing  that  thev 
are  a  rarity  '.n  your  partes."  ^ 

"  Monsieur,"  replies  Denonville,  "  I  thank  you 


»  Dongnn  to  Denonville,  1  Dec,  1686  ;  Ibitl.,  20  June,  1687,  in  iV.  T 
Col.  Docs.,  III.  402,  465. 

2  Dongan  to  Denonville,  20  Juin,  1087,  in  N.  Y.  Cd.  Docs.,  III.  405- 


1087.] 


DENONVILLE  EMBOLDENED 


131 


for  your  oranges.     It  is  a  great  pity  that  they 
^ere  all   rotten." 

The  French  governor,  unlike  his  rival,  felt  strong 
in  the  support   of  his  king,  who  had  responded 
ainply  to  his  appeals  for  aid  ;  and  the  temper  of 
his  letters  answered  to  his  improved  position.     ^'  I 
was  led.  Monsieur,  to  believe,  by  your  civil  lan- 
guage in  the  letter  you  took  the  trouble  to  write 
me  on  my  arrival,  that  we    should   live   m   the 
greatest  harmony  in  the  world  ;  but  the  result  has 
plainly  shown  that  your  intentions  did  not  at  all 
answer  to  your  fine  words."     And    he   upbraids 
him  without   measure    for   his  various  misdeeds : 
"Take  my  w^ord  for  it.     Let  us  devote  ourselves 
to  the  accomplishment  of  our  masters'  will ;  let  us 
seek,  as  they  do,  to  serve  and  promote  religion ; 
jjet  us  live  together  in  harmony,  as  they  desire.     I 
I  repeat  and  protest,  Monsieur,  that  it  rests  with  you 
alone;  but  do  not  imagine  that  I  am  a  man  to 
Riffer  others  to  play  tricks  on  me.     I  willingly 
believe  that  you  have  not  ordered  the  Iroquois  to 
Ipliinder  our  Frenchmen  ;  but,  whilst  I   have  the 
Ihonor  to  write  to  you,  you   know  that  Salvaye, 
iGedeon  Petit,  and  manv  other  roo:ues  and  bank- 
nipts  like  them,  are  with  you,  and  boast  of  sharing 
your  table.     I  should  not  be   surprised  that  you 
tolerate  them  in  your  country;  but  I  am  astonished 
jtbat  you  should  promise  me  not  to  lolerate  them, 
lliat  you  so  promise  me  again,  and  that  you  per- 
lorm  nothing  of  what   you  promise.     Trust  me, 
^lonsieiir,  make  no  promise  that  you  are  not  will- 
ig  to  keep."  ^ 

1  Denonville  a  Donqan,  21  Aug.,  1G87;  riid.,  no  date  (1687). 


132 


DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN. 


[1686, 


\'i 


Deiionvllle,  vexed  and   perturbed  hy  his  long 
strife   with   Dongan  and   the    Iroquois,   presently 
found  a  moment  of  comxort  in  tidings  that  reached 
him  from  the  north.     Here,  as  in  the  west,  there 
was  violent  rivalry  bet'veen  the  subjects  of  the 
two  crowns.     With  the  help  of  two  French  rene- 
gades, named  Radisson  and  Groseilliers,  the  English 
Company  of  Hudson's  Bay,  then  in  its  infancy,  had 
established  a  post  near  the  mouth  of  Nelson  Eiver, 
on  the  western  shore  of   that  dreary  inland  sea. 
The  company  had   also  three  other  posts,  called 
Fort  Albany,  Fort  Hayes,   and   Fort   Rupert,  at 
the  southern  end   of   the    bay.     A    rival   French 
company  had  been  formed  in  Canada,  under  the 
name  of  the  Company  of  the  North  ;  and  it  re- 
solved on  an  effort  to  expel  its  English  competitors. 
Though  it  was  a  time  of  profound  peace  between 
the  two  kings,  Denonville  w^armly  espoused  the 
plan  ;  and,  in  the  early  spring  of  1686,  he  sent 
the  Chevalier  de  Troyes  from  Montreal,  with  eighty 
or  more  Canadians,  to  execute  it.*     With  Troyes 
went     Iberville,    Sainte-Helene,    and    Maricourt, 
three  of  the  sons  of  Charles  Le  Moyne ;  and  the 
Jesuit  Silvy  joined  the  party  as  chaplain. 

They  ascended  the  Ottawa,  and  thence,  from 
stream  to  stream  and  lake  to  lake,  toiled  painfully  j 
towards  their  goal.     At  length,  they  neared  Fortj 

'  The  Conipagnie  (In  Nord  had  a  grant  of  the  trade  of  Hudson's  Bar 
from  Louis  XIV.     The  bay  was  discovered  by  the  EngHsh,  under  Hiid-j 
son  ;  but  the  French  had  cai-ricd  on  some  trade  tliere  before  tlie  establish- 
ment of  Fort  Nelson.     Denonville's  commission  to  Troyes  merely  (lireci'l 
him  to  build  forts,  and  "  se  saisir  des  voleurs  coureurs  de  bois  etautrei 
que  nous  savons  avoir  pris  et  arrOte  plusieurs  de  nos  Francois  commer| 
VantB  avpc  Jes  sauvages." 


1686] 


STRIFE  IN  THE  NORTH. 


133 


Haves.  It  was  a  stockade  with  four  bastions, 
moiintecl  with  cannon.  There  was  a  strong  block- 
house within,  in  which  the  sixteen  occupants  of 
the  place  were  lodged,  unsuspicious  of  danger. 
Troves  approached  at  night.  Iberville  and  Sainte- 
Heleiie  with  a  few  followers  climbed  the  palisade 
on  one  side,  while  the  rest  of  the  party  biu'st  the 
main  gate  with  a  sort  of  battering  ram,  and  rushed 
in,  yelling  the  war-whoop.  In  a  moment,  the  door 
of  the  blockhouse  was  dashed  open,  and  its  as- 
tonished inmates  captured  in  their  shirts. 

The  victors  now  embarked  for  Fort  Rupert,  dis- 
tant forty  leagues  along  the  shore.     In  construc- 
tion, it  resembled  Fort  Hayes.    The  fifteen  traders 
Avho  held  the  place  were  all  asleep  at  night  in  their 
blockhouse,  when  the  Canadians  burst  the  gate  of 
the  stockade  and  swarmed  into  the  area.     One  of 
them  mounted  by  a  ladder  to  the  roof  of  the  build- 
ing, and  dropped  lighted  hand-grenades  down  the 
chinniey,  which,  exploding  among  the  occupants, 
told  them  unmistakably  that  something -was  wrong. 
At  the  same  time,  the  assailants  fired  briskly  on 
them  through  the  loopholes,  and,  placing  a  petard 
j  under  the  walls,  threatened   to   blow   them   into 
the  air.     Five,  including  a  woman,  were  killed  or 
pvounded ;  and  the  rest  cried  for  quarter.     Mean- 
p'hile,  Iberville    with    another   party   attacked    a 
Ivessel  anchored  near  ih^  fort,  and,  climbing  silently 
lover  her  side,  found  the  man  on  the  watch  asleep 
p  his  blanket.     He  sprang  up  and  made  fight,  but 
they  killed  him,  then  stamped  on  the  deck  to  rouse 
those  below,  sabred  two  of  them  as  they  came  up 


11 


134 


DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN 


[m 


the  hatchway,  and  captured  the  rest.  Among  them 
was  Bridger,  governor  for  the  company  of  all  its 
stations  on  the  bay. 

They  next  turned  their  attention  to  Fort  Albany, 
thirty  leagues  from  Fort  Hayes,  in  a  direction  op. 
posite  to  that  of  Fort  Rupert.     Here  there  were 
about  thirty  men,  under  Henry  Sargent,  an  agent  of 
the  company.     Surprise  was  this  time  impossible; 
for  news  of  their  proceedings  had  gone  before  them,  i 
and  Sargent,  though  no  soldier,  stood  on  his  de- 
fence.    The   Canadians  arrived,  some   in  canoes, 
some  in  the  captured  vessel,  bringing  ten  captured 
pieces  of  cannon,  which  they  planted  in  batterj 
on  a  neighboring  hill,  well  covered   by  intrench- 
ments  from  the  English  shot.    Here  they  presently 
opened  fire  ;  and,  in  an  hour,  the  stockade  Mitli 
the  houses  that  it  enclosed  was  completely  rid- 
dled.    The  English  took  shelter  in  a  cellar,  nor  I 
Avas  it  till  the  fire  slackened  that  they  ventured  out 
to  show  a  white  flag  and  ask  for  a  parley.     Trojes 
and  Sargent  had  an  interview.     The  EnglishmaD 
regaled    his  conqueror  with  a  bottle  of   Spanish 
wine  ;  and,  after  drinking  the  health  of  King  Louid 
and  King  James,  they  settled  the  terms  of  capitula- 
tion.   The  prisoners  were  sent  home  in  an  Englisli| 
vessel  which  soon   after  arrived ;   and   Maricourt 
remained  to  command  at  the  bay,  while  Trojesj 
returned  to  report  his  success  to  Denonville.' 

1  On  the  capture  of  the  forts  at  Hudson's  Bay,  see  La  Potherio,  1. 14r 
163 ;  tlie  letter  of  Father  Silvy,  cliaphiin  of  the  expedition,  in  S:iiiit-Val-j 
lier,  Etat  Present,  43  ;  and  Oldmixon,  British  Empire  in  America,  I.  ijCl-o6ij 
(ed.  1741).  An  account  of  the  preceding  events  wiU  be  found  in  LjI 
Pothcrie  and  Oldniixon  ;  in  Jeremie,  Relation  de  la  Bale  de  Hudson ;  ami  ill 


1680.1 


TIIE  FRENCH  AT  HXJDSO^'S  BAY. 


133 


This  buccaneer  exploit  exasperated  the  English 
public,  and  it  became  doubly  apparent  that  the 
state  of  affairs  in  America  could  not  be  allowed  to 
continue.  A  conference  had  been  arranged  be- 
tween the  two  powers,  even  before  the  news  came 
from  Hudson's  Bay  ;  and  Count  d'Avaux  appeared 
at  London  as  special  envoy  of  Louis  XIV.  to  settle 
the  questions  at  issue.  A  treaty  of  neutrality  was 
signed  at  Whitehall,  and  commissioners  were  ap- 
pointed on  both  sides. ^  Pending  the  discussion, 
each  party  was  to  refrain  from  acts  of  hostility  or 
encroachment ;  and,  said  the  declaration  of  the 
connnissioners,  "  to  the  end  the  said  agreement 
mav  have  the  better  effect,  we  do  likewise  ao-ree 
that  the  said  serene  kings  shall  immediately  send 
necessary  orders  in  that  behalf  to  their  respective 
governors  in  America."  ^  Dongan  accordingly  was 
directed  to  keep  a  friendly  correspondence  with  his 
rival,  and  take  good  care  to  give  him  no  cause  of 
complaint.^ 

It  was  this  missive  which  had  dashed  the  ardor 
of  the  English  governor,  and  softened  his  epistolary 
style.  More  than  four  months  after,  Louis  XIV. 
sent  corresponding  instructions  to  Denonville ;  ^  but, 

LV  Y.  Col.  Dors.,  IX.  796-802.  Various  embellishments  have  been  added 
to  the  original  narratives  by  recent  writers,  such  as  an  imaginary  hand-to- 
hand  figlit  of  Iberville  and  several  Englishmen  in  the  blockhouse  of  Fort 
I  Hayes. 

^  Traits  de  Neutrality  pour  V  Ain^rique ,  concJu  a  Londres  le  IG  Nov.,  1686, 
|in  Me'moircs  des  Coinmissaires,  II.  86. 

-  Iiistnaiient  fur  preveiMmj  Acts  of  Hostility  in  America  in  N.  Y.  Col. 
\Docs.,  III.  605. 

3  Orcln-  to  Gov.  Dongan,  22  Jan.,  1687,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  504. 

*  Z()/;/.s-  XIV.  a  Denonville,  17  Juin,  1687.  At  the  end  of  March,  the 
king  had  written  that  "  he  did  not  think  it  expedient  to  make  any  at 
[tack  on  the  English." 


t| 


13G 


DENONVILLK  AND   DONCJAN. 


lies: 


! 


I  [ 


meant i  1110,  lio  had  sent  him  troops,  money,  ;iii'l 
munitions  in  abundance,  juid  ordered  hhn  to  jitliuk 
the  Iro(|iioIs  towns.  Whether  siieh  a  step  was  con- 
sistent with  the  recent  treaty  of  neutralitv  iii;i\ 
well  he  doubted  ;  lor,  thoimh  Jjiiiiesll.  had  in)t  vol 
formally  claimed  the  Iro<|tiois  as  British  sul)j(.H'ts, 
hii:  re2:)resentative  had  done  >o  for  years  willi  his 
tacit  approval,  and  out  of  this  claim  had  risen  the 
principal  differences  which  it  was  the  object  of  the 
treaty  to  settle. 

Ei<_i,-ht  hundred  reiirulars  were  already  In  the 
colony,  and  eii»:ht  hundred  more  were  sent  in  the 
spring,  with  a  hundred  and  sixty-eight  thousaiid 
livres  in  money  and  supplies.'  Denonvillc  was 
])repared  to  strike.  lie  had  pushed  his  prepara- 
tions actlvelyj  yet  with  extreme  secrecy  ;  for  he 
meant  to  fall  on  the  Senecas  unawares,  and  slialtei 
at  a  blow  the  mainspring  of  English  intrigue. 
Harmony  reigned  among  the  chiefs  of  the  colony. 
military,  civil,  and  religious.  The  intendant  Meules 
had  been  recalled  on  the  complaints  of  the  governor. 
who  had  quarrelled  with  him  ;  and  a  new  intendant, 
Champigny,  had  been  sent  in  his  place,  lie  was 
as  pious  as  Denonville  himself,  and,  like  him,  uas 
in  perfect  accord  with  the  bishop  and  the  Je.^iiitj:. 
All  wrought  together  to  promote  the  new  crusade. 

It  was  not  yet  time  to  preach  it,  or  at  lea.'ft 
Denonville  thought  so.  He  dissembled  his  pur- 
pose to  the  last  moment,  even  with  his  best  friends. 
Of  all   the  Jesuits  among  the   Iroquois,   the  t^vo 

'  Absirnct  of  TMters,  in  X.  Y.  Col.  /hrs.,  IX.  814.     Tliis  nnswors  cx| 
artly  to  tho  statement  of  the  }fcmoi'rr  a<h-(s<^(t\i  llfioit,  wliicli  plMct's' 
number  of  troops  in  Canada  at  this  time  at  tliirty-two  couipaniL's  of  fi/tjj 
men  each. 


mi\ 


PERIL  OF  LAMBEIiVILLE. 


137 


brodiors  Lamberville  luid  alono  held  (heir  post, 
peiioiiville,  in  order  to  deceive  the  enemy^  had 
(lirectcMl  these  priests  to  urge  tl)e  Iroquois  chiefs 
to  nuM't  him  in  council  at  Fort  Frontenac,  whither, 
ns  ho  pretended,  he  was  about  to  go  with  an  escort 
of  troops,  for  the  purpose  of  conferring  with  them. 
The  two  brothers  received  no  hint  whatever  of  his 
real  inlention,  and  tried  in  good  faith  to  accomplish 
his  wishes;  but  the  Iroquois  were  distrustful,  and 
hesitated  to  comply.  On  this,  the  elder  Limber- 
ville  sent  the  younger  with  letters  to  DcT.onville 
to  explain  the  position  of  affairs,  saying  at  the 
Fame  time  that  he  himself  would  not  leave  Onon- 
daga except  to  accompany  the  chiefs  to  the  pro- 
posed council.  "The  poor  father,"  wrote  the 
governor,  ^'  knows  nothing  of  our  designs.  I  am 
sorry  to  see  him  exposed  to  danger ;  but,  should  I 
recall  him,  his  withdrawal  would  certainly  betray 
our  phms  to  the  Iroquois."  This  unpardonable 
retieencc  placed  the  Jesuit  in  extreme  peril ;  for 
the  moment  the  Iroquois  discovered  the  intended 
treachery  they  would  probably  burn  him  as  its 
instrument.  No  man  in  Canada  had  done  so  much 
as  the  elder  Lamberville  to  counteract  the  influence 
of  England  and  serve  the  interests  of  France,  and 
in  return  the  governor  exposed  him  recklessly  to 
the  most  terrible  of  deaths.^ 

J  Dmoimlle  au  Ministre,  9  Nov.,  1686 ;  Ibid.,  8  Juin,  1687.    Denon- 

ville  at  last  pceins  to  luive  bcoii  seized  with  some  conirvunetion,  and 

writes:  "  Tout  eela  me  fait  craimlre  que  le  pauvre  pere  n'ayt  de  la  peine 

i  se  rctirer  d'entre  les  mains  de  ces  barbares  ce  qui  m'inquiete  fort." 

Dongan,  tliough  regarding  the  Jesuit  as  an  insidious  enemy,  liad  treated 

ini  much  better,  and  protected  him  on  several  occasions,  for  whieh  he 

I  received    the  emphatic  thanks  of    Dablon,  superior  of  the  missiona 

[Dahlon  to  Donqan  (1685?),  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  HI.  464. 


138 


DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN. 


VMl 


! 


In  spite  of  all  his  pains,  it  was  whispered  abroiul 
that  there  was  to  be  war;  and  the  rumor  ,vii,i 
brought  1o  the  ears  of  Dongan  by  some  of  thu 
Canadian  deserteii:^.  He  lost  no  time  in  wariiin,f 
the  Iroquois,  and  their  deputies  eame  to  beg  lii> 
help.  Danger  humbled  them  for  the  moinciit: 
and  they  not  only  recognized  King  James  as  their 
sovereign,  but  consented  at  last  to  call  b'<  i\y 
resentative  Fathe?'  Corlaer  instead  of  ^rothr. 
Their  father,  hcwever,  dared  not  promise  them 
soldiers ;  though,  in  spite  of  the  recent  treaty,  he 
caused  gunpowder  and  lead  to  be  given  them, 
and  urged  them  to  recall  tlu  powerful  war- 
parties  which  they  had  lately  sent  against  the 
Ilhnois.^ 

Denonville  at  lenglh  broke  silence,  and  ordered 
the  militia  to  muster.  They  grumbled  and  hesi- 
tated, for  they  remembered  the  failures  of  Li 
Barre.  The  governor  issued  a  proclamation,  and 
the  bishop  a  pastoral  mandate.  There  were  ser- 
mons, prayers,  and  exhortations  in  all  the  cnurehes. 
A  revulsion  of  popular  feeling  followed ;  and  the 
people,  says  Denonville,  ''  made  ready  for  the 
march  with  extraordinary  animation."  The  chiircli 
showered  blessings  on  them  as  they  went,  and  claih! 
masses  were  ordained  for  the  downfall  of  the  fjes| 
of  Heaven  and  of  France.^ 

1  Golden,  97  (1727),  Deno.iville  an  Ministre,  8  Juin,  1687. 

2  Saint- Vallier,  Etat  Pnfseut.      Even  to  tlie   moment  of  marching, 
Denonville  pretended  tl-.at  he  meant  only  to  hold  a  pea^e  oeuneil  !it  Fort| 
Frontenac.     ^'  .J'ui  toujours  pnblie  quo  je  n'allois  qu'k  rassembieo  ?e'ii^'| 
ralo  projetc'e  a  Cataracouy  (Fort  FronU-ntc).     J'ai  toujours  tenu  ce  dis-l 
cours  jusqu'uu  temp."  de  la  marclie."   Denonville  au  Ministre,  QJuiii,  1081 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


1687. 


DENONVILLE  AND  THE  SENEGAS 


TbeaOiiery  op  Dknonvilt.k.  —  Iroqu<>i«  Gknkkosity.  —  TuK  Invai^ 
iNU  AuMY.  —  The  Westkrk  Allies. —  Plunj)kr  of  English 
rKAiiKits.  —  Arrival  of  the  Allies.  —  Scene  at  the  French 
Cami'.  —  March  of  Denonville.  —  Amitscade.  —  Rattle.  —  Vic- 

TOKV.  —  ThK    SuNECA    BaUYLON. —  lAIl'tilFECT    SUCCESS. 

A  HOST  of  flat-boats  filled  with  soldiers,  and  a 
Lost  of  Indian  canoes,  struggled  against  the  rapids 
of  the  y..  Lawrence,  and  slowly  made  their  way  to 
Fort  Fiontenac.  Among  the  troops  was  La  Ilon- 
tan.  When  on  his  arrival  he  entered  the  gate 
of  the  fort,  he  saw  a  strange  siglit.  A  row  of  posts 
was  planted  across  the  area  within,  and  to  each 
post  an  Iroquois  was  tied  by  the  neck,  hands,  and 
feet,  "  in  such  a  w^ay,"  says  the  indignant  witness, 
r  that  he  could  neither  sleep  nor  drive  oif  the 
mosquitoes."  A  number  of  Indians  attached  to  the 
expedition,  all  of  wdiom  were  Christian  converts 
from  the  mission  villages,  were  amusing  themselves 
[bv  burnino;  the  fin<2:ers  of  these  unfortunates  in 
the  bowls  of  their  pipes,  while  the  sufferers  sang 
their  death  songs.  La  Hontan  recognized  one  of 
[them  who,  dnrinsr  his  campaign  \\ith  I^a  Barre, 
lad  often  feasted   him  in  his   wigwam;  and  the 


140 


DENONVILLE  AND  THE  SENEGAS. 


11887 


flight  so  exjispci'ated  the  young  officer  that  Le 
could  scarcely  refrain  from  thrashing  the  tor- 
mentors ^vith  his  walking  stick.' 

Though  the  prisoners  were  Iroquois,  they  were 
not  those  against  whom  the  expedition  was  directed; 
nor  had  they,  so  far  as  appears,  ever  given  the 
French  any  cause  o**  eomp^  tint.  They  helongd 
to  two  neutral  vihages,  called  Kente  and  Gaunui. 
ous,  on  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  forinincj 
a  sort  of  colony,  where  the  Sulpitians  of  Montreal 
had  established  a  mission.^  They  hunted  tuul 
fished  for  the  garrison  of  the  fort,  and  had  been 
on  excellent  terms  with  it.  Denonville,  however, 
feared  that  they  would  report  his  movements  to 
their  relntions  across  the  lake ;  but  this  was  not 
his  chief  motive  for  seizing  them.  Like  La  Barre 
before  him,  he  had  received  orders  from  the  court 
that,  as  the  Iroquois  were  robust  and  strong,  he 
should  capture  as  many  of  them  as  possible,  and 
send  them  to  France  as  galley  slaves.^  The  order, 
without  doubt,  referred  to  prisoners  taken  in  war; 
but  Denonville,  aware  that  the  hostile  Iroquois  were 
not  easily  caught,  resolved  to  entrap  their  unsus- 
pecting relatives. 

The  intendant  Champigny  accordingly  pro- 
ceeded to  the  fort  in  advance  of  the  troops,  and 
invited  the  neighboring  Iroquois  to  a  feast.     They 

»  La  Hontan,!.  03-05  (1709). 

'^  Gaiineious  or  Gancyout  was  on  an  arm  of  the  lake  a  little  west  ol 
the  present  town  of  Fredericksburg,  Kente  or  Quinte  was  on  Quinte 
Bay. 

3  Le  lioi/  a  La  Barre,  21  Juillet,  1684  ;  Le  Roy  a  Denonville  et  Champigni 
30  Mars.  1687. 


1687.] 


TREACIIEKY  OF  DENONVILLE. 


141 


came  to  the  number  of  thirty  men  anrt  about 
ninety  women  and  children,  whereupon  they  were 
jjijiTOunded  and  captured  by  the  intenihint'.s  escort 
and  the  two  hundred  men  of  the  garrison.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  vilhige  of  Ganneious  were  not 
present;  and  one  Perre,  with  a  strong  party  of 
(anadinns  and  Christian  Indians,  went  to  secure 
them.  He  acquitted  himself  of  his  errand  with 
crreat  address,  and  returned  with  eighteen  warriors 
and  about  sixty  women  and  children.  Champigny^s 
exertions  did  not  end  here.  Learning  that  a  party 
of  h'oquois  were  peaceably  fishing  on  an  island 
in  the  St.  Lawrence,  he  offered  thorn  also  the 
hospitalities  of  Fort  Frontenac ;  but  they  were  too 
wary  to  be  entrapped.  Fom^  or  fiv<^  Tioquois  were 
however  caught  by  the  troops  on  their  way  up  the 
river.  They  were  in  two  or  more  parties,  and  they 
all  had  with  them  their  women  and  children,  which 
was  never  the  case  with  Iroquois  on  the  w^ar-path. 
Hence  the  assertion  of  Denonville,  that  they  came 
with  hostile  designs,  is  very  improbable.  As  for 
the  last  six  months  he  had  constantly  urged  them, 
[by  the  lips  of  Lamberville,  to  visit  him  and  smoke 
[the  pipe  of  peace,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  sup- 
Ipose  that  these  Indian  families  w^ere  on  their  w^ay 
to  the  colony  in  consequence  of  his  invitations. 
Anion <>:  them  were  the  son  and  brother  of  Bior 
Mouth*  who  of  late  had  been  an  advocate  of  peace  ; 
and,  in  order  not  to  alienate  him,  these  tw^o  were 
eventually  set  free.  The  other  w^a^riors  were  tied 
|like  the  rest  to  stakes  at  the  fort. 
Tha  whole  number   of   prisoners  thus  secured 


112 


DKNONVILLE  AND  THE  SENECAS. 


11087 


H 


was  fifty-ono,  .sustained  by  such  food  as  their  wives 
were  al)l(^  to  f^et  for  them.  Of  more  thau  a  hun- 
dred aud  fifty  women  and  ehilch'cn  captui'ed  with 
them,  many  died  at  the  fort,  partly  from  excite. 
ment  and  distress,  and  partly  fi'om  a  ])estilential 
disease.  The  survivors  were  all  hapti/ed,  and 
then  distributed  among  the  mission  villages  in  \h: 
colony.  The  men  were  sent  to  Quebeo,  whore 
some  of  them  were  given  up  to  their  Christ  inn 
relatives  in  the  missioTis  who  had  claimed  tliom. 
and  whom  it  was  not  expedient  to  offend  ;  and  the 
rest,  alter  being  baptized,  were  sent  to  Franco,  to 
share  Avith  convicts  and  Huguenots  the  horrible 
slavery  of   the  royal  galleys.^ 

Before  reaching  Fort  Frontenac,  Denonville,  to 
his  great  relief,  was  joined  by  Lamberville,  delivcrod 
from  the  peril  to  which  the  governor  had  exposed 
him.     He  owed  his  life  to  an  act  of  magnanimity 

1'  The  nntliorlties  for  the  above  are  Drnonville,  Cliampirrny,  AlW 
Belmont,  Bisliop  Saint- Vallier,  and  the  author  of  hWueil  de  cc  qni  s'esi 
passim  C(tn(uhi  on  Siij'>t  do  hi  (hurrc,  rtc,  (h'jnilH  favn^e  1082. 

Belmont,  who  accompanied  the  expedition,  speaks  of  the  affair  with 
indignation,  which  was  shared  by  many  French  officers.  The  bisliop, 
on  the  other  hand,  mentions  the  success  of  the  8trata<?em  a?  a  reward 
accorded  by  Heaven  to  the  piety  of  Denonville.  Ktat  Prtfsent  de  I'h/m, 
91,92  (reprint,  1850). 

Denonville's  account,  wliich  is  sufficiently  explicit,  is  contained  in  the  I 
loTif?  journal  of  the  expedition  which  he  sent  to  the  court,  and  in  scvml 
letters  to  the  minister.     Both  Belmont  and  the  author  of  tlie  /umitj 
epeak  of  tlie  prisoners  as  having  been  "  pris  par  I'appat  d'un  festin." 

Mr.  Shea,  usually  so  exact,  has   been  led   into  some  error  by  con- 
founding  tlie   different    acts  of    this   affair.      By    Denonville's  iilliciall 
journal,  it  appears  that,  on  the  10th  June,  Porre,  by  his  order,  captured] 
several  Indians  on  the  St.  Lawrence  ;  that,  on  the  2oth  June,  the  gover- 
nor, then  at  Bapide  Plat  on  his  way  up  the  river,  received  a  letter  froral 
Cliampigny,  informing  him  that  he  had  seized  all  the  Iroquois  ncurFort 
Frontenac;  and  that,  on  the  3d  July,  Perr(?,  whom  Denonville  had  8<'ii'| 
several  days  before  to  attack  Ganneious,  arrived  with  his  prisoner»- 


1108] 

wives 
I  liun- 
il  with 
L^xciti'- 
ileiitial 
1,   and 

in  till; 

where 
iristiiui 

I    tlllMU. 

111(1  the 
ui(!e,  to 
liorrible 

ville,  lu 
elivorod 
exposed 
niiinitv 

rrny,  Al)l)^ 

cc  I] III  snl 

affnir  witli 

lie  liislinp, 

IP  il  rewanl 

de  i'l''/m, 

inod  in  the] 
in  pcvpral 

jlie  Rmid\ 

i  feslin." 
)r  by  con- 

le's  official  1 
;•,  ciiptured 
[till'  pover- 
IctU'rfromj 
ncitrForl 
had  sen' I 
loncTfi- 


16S:l 


lUOQTIOTS   C.KNKnOSITr. 


113 


on  tli<'  pnrt  of  tho  Troqiiols,  wliicli  doi^s  tliciii  si<^nal 
liyiior.  Olio  of  tho  prisoners  nt  Fort  Frontonac 
had  colli  rived  to  escape,  ami,  leaping  sixteen  feet 
to  the  ,i:;roun(l  from  the  window  of  a  hloekhousc, 
ciossimI  the  lake,  and  gave  the  aljinn  to  his  eonn- 
tivinon.  Aj)parently,  it  was  from  him  that  the 
(inondiigMs  leariKid  tlijit  tho  invitations  of  Onontio 
were  a  snare  ;  tliat  he  had  entrapped  their  rela- 
tives, Jiiid  was  ahoiit  to  fall  on  their  Seneca 
hivthroii  with  all  the  force  of  Canada.  The  Jesuit, 
whom  they  trusted  and  esteemed,  hut  who  had 
heen  used  as  an  instrument  to  heguilo  them,  was 
suniiiioncd  hefore  a  council  of  the  chiefs.  They 
were  in  a  fury  at  the  news ;  and  Lamherville,  as 
much  iistonishcd  l)y  it  as  they,  expected  instant 
dentil,  when  one  of  them  is  said  to  have  addressed 
liiiu  to  the  following  effect :  "  We  know  yon  too 
widl  to  believe  that  you  meant  to  betray  us.  We 
think  that  you  have  been  deceived  as  well  as  we; 
and  WG  are  not  nnjust  enough  to  punish  you  for 
the  crime  of  others.  But  you  are  not  safe  here. 
hVhon  once  our  yonng  men  have  sung  the  war- 
pong,  they  will  listen  to  nothing  but  their  fury; 
land  wc  shall  not  be  able  to  save  you."  They  gave 
Ihim  guides,  and  sent  him  by  secret  paths  to  meet 
Ithe  advancing  army.^ 


'  I  liave  ventured  to  give  tliis  story  on  the  sole  authority  of  Chnrle- 
fnix,  fur  tho  contemporary  writers  are  silent  concerning  it.  Mr.  Shea 
lliinks  that  it  involves  a  contradiction  of  date  ;  but  this  is  entirely  due 
|oconfouiuling  the  capture  of  prisoners  by  Perrd  at  Ganneious  on  July 

with  the  capture  by  Champigny  at  Fort  Frontenac  about  June  20th. 
Limberville  reached  Denonville's  camp,  one  day's  journey  from  the 
^ort,  on  the  eventng  of  the  29th.     {Journal  of  Denonville.)    This  would 


I    \ 


144 


DENONTILLE  AND  THE  SENEGAS. 


[1687. 


Again  the  fields  about  Fort  Frontenac  were 
covered  with  tents,  camp-sheds,  and  wigwams. 
Regulars,  militia,  and  Indians,  there  were  about 
tv^^o  thousand  men ;  and,  besides  these,  eight  hundred 
regulars  just  arrived  from.  France  had  been  left  at 
Montreal  to  protect  the  settlers.^  Fortune  thus 
far  had  smiled  on  the  enterprise,  and  she  now  gave 
Denonville  i\  fresh  proof  of  her  favor.  On  the 
very  day  of  his  arrival,  a  canoe  came  from  Niagara 
with  news  that  a  large  body  of  allies  from  the  west 
had  reached  that  place  three  days  before,  and  were 
waiting  his  commands.  It  was  more  than  he  had 
dared  to  hope.  In  the  preceding  autumn,  he  liad 
ordered  Tonty,  connuanding  at  the  Illinois,  rtnd 
La  Durantaye,  commanding  at  Michillimackiriac, 
to  muster  as  many  coureiirs  de  hois  and  Indians  as 
possible,  and  join  him  early  in  July  at  Niagara. 
The  distances  were  vast,  and  the  difficulties  incal- 
culable. In  the  eyes  of  the  pious  governor,  their 
timely  arrival  was  a  manifest  sign  of  the  favor  of 
Heaven.  At  Fort  St.  Louis,  of  the  Illinois,  Toiitv 
had  mustered  sixteen  Frenchmen  and  about  two 
hundred  Indians,  whom  he  led  across  the  country 
to  Detroit;  and  here  he  found  Du  Lhut,  La  Foret, 
and  La  Durantaye,  with  a  large  body  of  Freiicli 

give  four  and  a  half  days  for  news  of  the  treachery  to  reach  Onondaga,] 
and  four  and  a  half  days  for  the  Jesuit  to  rejoin  his  countrymen. 

Charlevoix,  with  his  usual  cafelessness,  says  that  the  Jesuit  I\Ii!et  I 
also  been  used  to  lure  the  Iroquois  into  the  snare,  and  that  he  was  soadI 
after  captured  by  the  Oneidas,  and  delivered  by  an  Indian  niatrocj 
Milet's  captivity  did  not  take  place  till  1(589-90. 

^  Denonville.     Champigny  says  882  regulars,  930  militia,  aiul  I 
Indians.     This  was  when  the  army  left  Montreal.     More  Indians  afte^| 
wards  joined  it.     Belmont  says  1,800  French  and  Canadians  and  aboul 
800  Indians. 


li  i 


1687.1 


THE  ENGLISH  ON  THE  LAKES. 


145 


and  Indians  from  the  upper  lakes.^  It  had  been 
ilie  work  of  the  wliole  winter  to  induce  these 
savaf^es  to  move.  Presents,  persuasion,  and  prom- 
ises had  not  been  spared;  and  while  La  Durantaye, 
aided  by  the  Jesuit  Engelran,  labored  to  gain  over 
the  tribes  of  Michillimackinac,  the  indefatigable 
Xicolas  Perrot  was  at  work  among  those  of  the 
Mississippi  and  Lake  Michigan.  They  were  of  a 
race  unsteady  as  aspens  and  fierce  as  wild-cats,  full 
of  mutual  jealousies,  without  rulers,  and  without 
laws ;  for  each  was  a  law  to  himself.  It  was  diffi- 
cult to  persuade  them,  and,  when  persuaded, 
Foarcely  possible  to  keep  them  so.  Perrot,  how- 
jever,  induced  some  of  them  to  follow  him  to 
Michillimackinac,  where  many  hundreds  of  Algon- 
quin savages  were  presently  gathered  :  a  perilous 
crew,  ^^llO  changed  their  minds  every  day,  and 
hvhose  dancing,  singing,  and  yelping  might  turn  at 
any  moment  into  war-whoops  against  each  other 
lor  acfainsG  their  hosts,  the  French.  The  Hurona 
[•showed  more  stability ;  and  La  Durantaye  was 
reasonably  sure  that  some  of  them  would  follow 
lim  to  the  war,  though  it  w^as  clear  that  others 
i\'ere  bent  on  allying  themselves  with  the  Senecas 
ind  the  English.  As  for  the  Pottawatamies,  Sacs, 
)jibwas,  Ottav/a-s,  and  other  Algonquin  hordes,  no 
nan  could  foresee  what  they  would  do.^ 
Suddenly  a  canoe  arrived  with  news  that  a  party 
English  traders  was  approaching.     It  will  be  re- 

'  Tonty,  M€moire  in  Margry,  Relations  In€dites. 
''■  The  name  of  Ottawas,  here  used  specifically,  was  often  employed  by 
French  as  a  generic  terra  for  the  Algonquin  tribes  of  the  Great 
Ices. 

1A 


146 


DENONVILLE  AND  THE  SENEGAS. 


11687 


nieraberccl  that  two  bands  of  Dutch  and  English. 
under  Rooseboom  and  McGrcgory,  had  prepared 
to  set  out  together  for  Michillimnckinac,  armed 
with  commissions  from  Dongan.  They  had  rashlv 
changed  tlieir  plan,  and  parted  company.  Roose- 
boom  took  the  lead,  and  McGregory  followed  some 
time  after.  Their  hope  was  that,  on  reacliina 
Michillimackinac,  the  Indians  of  the  place,  attracted 
by  their  cheap  goods  and  their  abundant  supplies 
of  rum,  would  declare  for  them  and  drive  off  the 
French ;  and  this  would  probably  have  happened,  j 
but  for  the  prompt  action  of  La  Durantaye.  The 
canoes  of  Rooseboom,  bearing  twenty-nine  whites 
and  five  Mohawks  and  Mohicans,  were  not  far  dis- 
tant, when,  amid  a  prodigious  hubbub,  the  French 
commander  embarked  to  meet  him  with  a  hundred 
and  twenty  coureurs  de  hois}  Behind  them  fol-j 
lowed  a  swarm  of  Indian  canoes,  whose  occupants 
scarcely  knew  w^hich  side  to  take,  but  for  the  most 
part  inclined  to  the  English.  Rooseboom  and  \m 
men,  however,  naturally  thought  that  they  camel 
to  support  the  French;  and,  when  La  Duraniaye 
bore  down  upon  them  with  threats  of  instant  deatli 
if  they  made  the  least  resistance,  they  surrendered 
at  once.  The  captors  carried  them  in  triumph  to 
Michillimackinac,  and  gave  their  goods  to  the  cle-| 
lighted  Indians. 

"  It  is  certain,"  wTote  Denonville,  "  that,  if  thel 
English  had  not  been  stopped  and  pillaged,  the 
Hurons  and  Ottawas  would  have  revolted  and  cutl 

^  Attestation  of  N.  Ilarnientse  and  others  of  Rooseboom's  partjj 
N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  436.     La  Potherie  says,  three  hundred. 


lf.87.] 


THE  ALLIES  ARRIVE. 


147 


the  throats  of  all  our  Frenchmen  "^  As  it  was, 
La  Durantaye's  exploit  produced  a  revulsion  of 
{eeli^t5^  ^^^  many  of  the  Indians  consented  to  fol- 
low him.  He  lost  no  time  in  leading  them  down 
the  lake  to  join  Du  Lhut  at  Detroit ;  and,  when 
Tonty  arrived,  they  all  paddled  for  Niagara.  On 
the  wny,  they  met  McGregory  with  a  party  about 
equal  to  that  of  Rooseboom.  He  had  with  him  a 
considerable  number  of  Ottawa  and  Huron  prison- 
ers whom  the  Iroquois  had  captured,  and  whom  he 
meant  to  return  to  their  countrymen  as  a  means  of 
concluding  the  long  projected  triple  alliance  be- 
t^veen  the  English,  the  Iroquois,  and  the  tribes  of 
the  lak  )s.  This  bold  scheme  was  now  completely 
crushed.  All  the  English  were  captured  and  car- 
ried to  Niagara,  whence  they  and  their  luckless 
precursors  were  sent  prisoners  to  Quebec. 

La  Durantaye  and  his  companions,  with  a  hun- 
dred and  eighty  courenrs  de  hois  and  four  hundred 
Indians,  Avaited  impatiently  at  Niagara  for  orders 
from  the  governor.  A  canoe  despatched  in  haste 
I  from  Fort  Frontenac  soon  appeared  ;  and  they  were 
i  directed  to  repair  at  once  to  the  rendezvous  at 
llrondequoit  Bay,  on  the  borders  of  the  Seneca 
country.^ 

Denonville  was  already  on  his  way  thither.  On 
Ithe  fourth  of  July,  he  had  embarked  at  Fort  Fron- 
tenac with   four    hundred    bateaux   and    canoes. 


1  Deiionvilh  au  Mini'strp,  25  Aoitt,  1687. 

'^  The  above  is  drawn  from  papers  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  436,  IX 
|824,  800,  346,  406 ;  Saint- Vallicr,  Etni  Present,  d2;  denonville,  Journal 
Belmont,  Ilistoire  dn  Canada  ;  La  Potherie,  II.  chap,  xvi  ;  La  Ilontaii' 
96.    Coklen's  account  is  confur  oi  und  incorrect. 


148 


DENONVILLE  AND  THE   SENEGAS. 


11081 


crossed  the  foot  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  moved  west- 
ward along  the  southern  shore.  The  weather  was 
rough,  and  six  days  passed  before  he  descried  the 
low  headlands  of  Irondequoit  Bay.  Far  off  on  tlie 
glimmering  water,  he  saw  a  multitude  of  canoes 
advancing  to  meet  him. '  It  was  the  flotilla  of  La 
Durantaye.  Good  management  and  good  luck  had 
so  disposed  it  that  the  allied  bands,  concentring 
from  points  more  than  a  thousand  miles  distant, 
reached  the  rendezvous  on  the  same  day.  This 
was  not  all.  The  Ottawas  of  Michillimackinac,  who 
refused  to  follow  La  Durantaye,  had  changed  their 
minds  the  next  morning,  embarked  in  a  body,  pad- 
dled up  the  Georgian  Bay  of  Lake  Huron,  crossed 
to  Toronto,  and  joined  the  allies  at  Niagara.  White 
and  red,  Denonville  now  had  nearly  three  thousand 
men  under  his  command.* 

All  were  gathered  on  the  low  point  of  land  that 
separates  Irondequoit  Bay  from  Lake  Ontario. 
"  Never,"  says  an  eye-witness,  "  had  Canada  seen 
such  a  sight ;  and  never,  perhaps,  will  she  see  such 
a  sight  again.  Here  was  the  camp  of  the  regulars 
from  France,  with  the  generaVs  head-quarters ;  the 
camp  of  the  four  battalions  of  Canadian  militia, 
commanded  by  the  noblesse  of  the  country;  the! 
camp  of  the  Christian  Indians ;  and,  farther  on,  a 
swarm  of  savages  of  every  nation.  Their  features 
were  different,  and  so  were  their  manners,  their 
weapons,  their  decorations,  and  their  dances.  They 
sang  and  whooped  and  harangued  in  every  accent 


*  Recueil  dece  quis'est  passmen  Canada depuis  1682;  Captain  Dupkitit'tl 
Plan  far  the  Defence  of  Canada,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.^  IX.  447. 


11081. 


168".] 


MARCH  OF  DENONVILLE. 


149 


i  west- 
er WdS 

ed  the 
on  tlie 
canoes 

of  La 
ck  had 
sntring 
distant, 
.  This 
ac,  who 
id  their 
\y,  pad- 
crossed 

White 
[lousand 

Lnd  that 
►ntario. 
.da  seen 
see  such 
^egulars 
;rs ;  the 
militia, 
ry;  the 
ler  on,  a  I 
features  I 
PS,  their 
They' 
accent  I 


and  tongue.  Most  of  them  wore  nothing  but  horna 
on  their  heads,  and  the  tails  of  beasts  behind  their 
backs.  Their  faces  were  painted  red  or  green, 
with  bhick  or  white  spots ;  their  ears  and  noses 
were  hung  with  ornaments  of  iron  ;  and  their  naked 
bodies  were  daubed  with  figures  of  various  sorts 
of  animals."  ^ 

These  were  the  allies  from  the  upper  lakes. 
The  enemy,  meanwhile,  had  taken  alarm.  Just 
after  the  army  arrived,  three  Seneca  scoiiis  called 
from  the  edge  of  the  woods,  and  demanded  what 
they  meant  to  do.  "  To  fight  you,  you  blockheads," 
answered  a  Mohawk  Christian  attached  to  the 
French.  A  volley  of  bullets  was  fired  at  the 
scouts;  but  they  escaped,  and  carried  the  news 
to  their  villages.^  Many  of  the  best  warriors  were 
absent.  Those  that  remained,  four  hundred  or 
four  hundred  and  fifty  by  their  own  accounts,  and 

i  eight  hundred  by  that  of  the  French,  mustered  in 
haste;  and,  though  many  of  them  were  mere  boys, 
they  sent  off  the  women  and  children,  hid  their 
most  valued  possessions,  burned  their  chief  town, 

[and  prepared  to  meet  the  invaders. 
On  the  twelfth,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 

|noon,  Denonville  began  his  march,  leaving  four 
unidred  men  in  a  hastily  built  fort  to  guard  the 
iateaux  and  canoes.  Troops,  officers,  and  Indians, 
ill  carried  their  provisions  at  their  backs.  Some 
)f  the  Christian  Mohawks  guided  them  ;  but  guides 
rere  scarcely  needed,  for  a  broad  Indian  trail  led 


Dup/ew«''H   ^  "^''6  first  part  of  the  extract  is  from  Belmont;  tlie  second,  from 
^aint-Vallier. 

*  Inforination  rereivpd  from  several  Indians,  in  N.  Y   Col.  Docs.,  III.  444 


I  I 


150 


DENONVILLE  AND   THE   SENEGAS. 


11G87 


from  the  bay  to  the  great  Seneca  town,  twenty. 
two  miles  southward.    They  marched  three  leagues 
through  the  open  forests  of  oak,  and  eiiciinipod 
for    the    night.      In  the  morning,   the   heat   was 
intense.     The  men  gasped  in  the  dead  and  sultry 
air  of  the  woods,  or  grew  faint  in  the  pitiless  sun, 
as  they  waded  waist-deep  through  the  rank  grass 
of   the    narrow    intervales.     They   passed    safely 
through  two  dangerous  defiles,  and,  about  two  in 
the    afternoon,    began    to    enter   a   third.     Dense 
forests  covered  the  hills  on  either  hand.     La  Du- 
rantaye  with  Tonty  and  his  cousin  Du  Lhut  led  the 
advance,  nor  could  all  Canada  have  supplied  throe 
men  better  for  the  work.     Each  led  his  band  of 
coiireurs  cle  hois,  white  Indians,  without  discipline, 
and  scarcely  capable  of  it,  but  brave  and  accus- 
tomed to  the  woods.     On  their  left  were  the  Iro- 
quois converts  from  the  missions  of  Saut  St.  Louis 
and  the  Mountain  of  Montreal,  fighting  under  tlie 
influence  of  their  ghostly  prompters  against  their 
own  countrymen.     On  the  right  were  the  pagan 
Indians  from  the  west.     The  woods  were  full  of 
these    painted    spectres,   grotesquely   hevrible  in 
horns  and  tail ;  and  among  them  flitted  the  black 
robe  of  Father  Engelran,  the  Jesuit  of  Mlchilli- 
mackinac.      Nicolas   Perrot   and  two  other  busli- 
rano-ins:   Frenchmen  were    assio-ned   to  command 
them,  but  in  fact  they  obeyed  no  man.     Tlie:«e 
formed  the  vanguard,  eight  or  nine  hundred  in  all,, 
under  an  excellent  officer,  Callieres,  governor  ofl 
ISIontreal.     Behind   came    the   main   body   under 
Denonville,  each  of  the  four  battalions  of  regularj| 


1687.1 


AMBUSCADE. 


151 


alternating  with  a  battalion  of  Canadians.  Some 
of  the  regulars  wore  light  armor,  while  the  Cana- 
dians were  in  plain  attire  of  coarse  cloth  or  buck- 
skin.  DenonviHe,  oppressed  by  the  heat,  marched  . 
ill  his  shirt.  "  it  is  a  rough  life,"  wrote  the  mar- 
quis, "  to  tramp  afoot  through  the  woods,  carrying 
one's  own  provisions  in  a  haversiick,  devoured  by 
iiio>quitoes,  and  faring  no  better  than  a  mere 
Foldier."  ^  With  him  was  the  Chevalier  de  Vau- 
dieiiil,  who  had  just  arrived  from  Fi-ance  in  com- 
mand of  the  eight  hundred  men  left  to  guard 
the  colony,  and  who,  eager  to  take  part  in  the 
campaign,  had  pushed  forward  alone  to  join  the 
aniiy.  Here,  too,  were  the  Canadian  seigniors  at 
the  bend  of  their  vassals,  Berthier,  La  Valterie, 
Granville,  Longueuil,  and  many  more.  A  guard  of 
rangers  and  Indians  brought  up  the  rear. 

Scouts  thrown  out  in  front  ran  back  with  the 
report  that  they  had  reached  the  Seneca  clearings, 
and  had  seen  no  more  dangerous  enemy  than  three 
or  four  women  in  the  cornfields.  This  was  a  device 
of  the  Senecas  to  cheat  the  French  into  the  belief 
that  the  inhabitants  were  still  in  the  town.  It  had 
the  desired  effect.  The  vanguard  pushed  rapidly 
forward,  hoping  to  surprise  the  place,  and  ignorant 
that,  behind  the  ridge  of  thick  forests  on  their 
right,  among  a  tangled  growth  of  beech- trees  in 
the  gorge  of  a  brook,  three  hundred  ambushed 
[warriors  lay  biding  their  time. 

Hurrying  forward  through  the  forest,  they  left 
I  the  main  body  behind,  and  soon  reached  the  end 

1  Denonville  au  Ministre,  8  Juin,  lOu. 


152 


1)E^()NVI^LK    AND   THE   SKNKCAS. 


1108? 


oi  tlio  (Iclilo.  'I'lio  woods  \\(M'(^  .Ml ill  tlcnsc  on  ihv'w 
loft  Jiiul  front  ;  but  on  thoir  ri^lit  lay  a  great  marsh, 
covered  willi  alder  tliieUets  and  rank  grass.  Siid- 
deidy  the  air  was  tilled  with  ycdls,  and  a  rapid 
though  disiaut  tin*  wjis  o|)(Mied  from  Ihe  tluckots 
and  lh(»  forest.  Scores  of  painled  savages,  slark 
naked,  some  arnxMl  wi  h  swords  and  somc^  wiih 
Iiatehet.^,  le,  .>td  S'  n^(  t  uin^"  from  thcii*  anihuscade, 
and  rushed  aga'  ist  tin:  van.  Almost  at  the  same 
moment  a.  hurst  of  whooj)..  md  firing  sounded  in 
the  d(^(ile  hehind.  It  was  tin*  ambushed  llnvc 
hundred  supporting  Ihe  ons(»t  of  their  eountrymoii 
in  front;  but  thev  had  made  a  fatal  mistake.  Do- 
ceived  bv  the  numbers  of  the  vanguard,  they  nun- 
])osed  it  to  be  the  whole  army,  never  suspiH'ting 
that  Denonville  was  elose  beliind  with  sixteen  hun- 
dred men.  It  was  a  sur])ri^^  on  both  sid(\s.  So 
dense  was  the  forest  that  the  advancing  battalions 
conld  see  neither  the  enemy  nor  each  other.  Ap- 
palled by  the  din  of  whoops  and  firing,  redoiibk^d 
bv  the  echoes  of  the  narrow  vallev,  the  whole  annv 
was  seized  wnth  something  like  a  panic.  Somo  of 
the  olhcers,  it  is  said,  threw  themselves  on  the 
ground  in  their  fright.  There  were  a  few  nioniouts 
of  intense  bewilderment.  The  varions  corps  be- 
came broken  and  confused,  and  moved  hither  and 
thither  without  knowing  why.  Denonville  be- 
haved with  great  courage,  lie  ran,  sw^ord  in  band. 
to  where  the  nproar  was  greatest,  ordered  the! 
drums  to  beat  the  charge,  turned  back  the  militia j 
of  Berthier  who  were  trying  to  escape,  and  conv 
manded  them  and  all  others  whom,  he  met  to  fire 


I    1 


1087.) 


VICTORY. 


153 


on  wliMtcvcr  looked  llko  an  oiKMny.  TFe  wns 
br;ivol,v  .^'M-oikIimI  by  CalIi^^'«,  Lii  Valtoiie,  nnd 
j^ovonil  (  lor  ollicor.s.  Tlie  Christian  Iroquois 
foiiLrlil  n'cil  from  tliu  first,  lojiplii'  froin  tree  to 
tiTC.  MM(1  t  \'cliMM<i;ini(  Hhc.ts  and  (''jfiijiu'o  with  thoir 
I., .allien  oiiiitrymcn  ;  liij  (he  Scncrjis,  HOcing 
tliiMiisclvcs  coiifronlod  by  niiinlxM's  I  hat  seeined 
cn(ll«v'^><,  abjuidonrd  the  field,  id't(;r  heavy  loss, 
(aiTvin.iJ:  with  them  many  of  their  dead  and  all  of 
tlioir  woMuded.' 

Dciionville    made    no  atl(Mn])t    to    pursue,     tie 

hud  KnuikmI   the  dan<i;ers  of  this  blind  wjirfare  of 

the  woods;  and  he  feared  that  the  Senecas  would 

wavliiy  him  again  in  the  labyrintli  of  bushes  that 

lay  between  him  and  the  town.     "  Our  trooj)s,"  he 

pay^, ''  were  all  so  overcome  by  the  extreme  heat 

and  the  long  march  that  we  were  forced  to  remain 

uhero  we  were  till  mornino;.     We  had  the  j)ain  of 

uitnessiuii;  the  usual  cruelties  of  the   Indians,  who 

cut  the  dead   bodies  into  quarters,  like  butchers 

jiiioat,  to  put  into  their  kettles,  and  opened  most  of 

jthoni  wliile  still  warm   to  driidc  the  blood.     Our 

rascally  Ottawas  particularly  distinguished   them- 

sohes  by  these  barbarities,  as  wxdl  as  by  cowardice  ; 

for  thov  made  off  in  the  fi<2:ht.     We  had  five  or  six 

Imen  ki.icd  on  the  spot,  and  about  twenty  wounded, 

lamoiig  whom  was  Father  Engelran,  who  was  badly 

|liuvt  by  a  gun-shot.     Some  prisoners  'who  escaped 

rom  the  Senecas  tell  us  that  they  lost  forty  men 

pled  outright,  twenty-five  of  whom  we  saw  butch- 

^  For  authorities,  see  note  at  the  end  of  the  chapter.    Tlie  account 
^f  Cliarlovoix  is  contradicted  at  several  points  by  the  contemporary 

Writers 


;t.?"^' 


154 


DENONVILLE  AND  THE  SENEGAS. 


[Ml 


ered.  One  of  the  escaped  prisoners  saw  the  rest 
buried,  and  he  saw  also  more  tlian  sixty  very 
dangerously  wounded."  ^ 

In  the  nioining,  the  troops  advanced  in  order  of 
battle  through  a  marsh  coveied  with  alders  and 
tall  grass,  whence  they  had  no  sooner  enior^a'd 
than,  says  Abbe  Belmont,  ^*  we  began  to  sec  tin; 
famous  Babylon  of  the  Senecas,  where  so  iimnj 
crimes  have  been  connnitted,  so  much  blood  spllld^ 
and  so  many  men  burned.  It  was  a  village  or 
town  of  bark,  on  the  top  of  a  hill.  They  hud 
burned  it  a  week  before.  We  found  nothing  in  it 
but  the  graveyard  and  the  graves,  full  of  snakes 
and  other  creatures ;  a  great  mask,  with  teetj] 
and  eyes  of  brass,  and  a  bearskin  drawn  over  it, 
with  which  they  performed  their  conjurations."' 
The  fire  had  also  spared  a  number  of  huge  recep- 
tacles of  bark,  still  fdled  with  the  last  seasoii'ji 
corn ;  while  the  fields  around  were  covered  Avitli 
the  growing  crop,  ripening  m  the  July  sun.  There 
were  hogs,  too,  in  great  number;  for  the  Iroquois 
did  not  share  the  antipathy  w^ith  which  Indians 
are  apt  to  regard  that  unsavory  animal,  and  froiii| 
which  certain  philosophers  have  argued  their  de- 
scent from  the  Jews. 

The  soldiers  killed  the  hogs,  burned  the  oldl 
corn,  and  hacked  down  the  new  with  their  swords, 
Next  they  advanced  to  an  abandoned  Seneca  foul 
on  a  hill  half  a  league  distant,  and  burned  it,  witlil 

1  Dcnonville  an  Mim'stre,  25  Aout,  1687.  In  liis  journal,  written  atoj 
wards,  he  says  tliat  the  Senecas  left  twenty-seven  dead  on  the  liel(l,anil| 
carried  off  twenty  more,  besides  upwards  of  sixty  mortally  woumled. 

2  Belmont.    A  few  words  are  added  from  Saint- Vallier. 


1687.1 


CONDITION  OF  THE  TROOPS. 


155 


all  that  it  contained.  Ton  days  were  passed  in 
the  work  of  ha\'oc.  Three  neighboring  villages 
^veie  levelled,  and  all  their  fields  laid  ^vaste.  The 
amuiiiil  of  corn  destro3ed  Avas  prodigious.  De- 
nonville  reckons  it  at  the  absurdly  exaggerated 
amount  of  twelve   hundred  thousand  bushels. 

The  Senecas,  laden  with  such  of  their  possessions 
as  they  could  carry  off,  had  fled  to  their  confeder- 
ates in  the  east;  and  Denonville  did  not  venture 
to  pursue  them.  His  men,  feasting  without  st'nt 
on  green  corn  and  fresh  pork,  were  sickening  rap- 
iilly,  und  his  Indian  allies  were  deserting  him, 
'It  is  a  miserable  business,"  he  wrote,  ^'  to  com- 
mand savages,  who,  as  soon  as  they  have  knocked 
an  enemy  in  the  head,  ask  for  nothing  but  to  go 
Lome  and  carry  with  them  the  scalp,  which  they 
takeoff  like  a  skull-cap.  You  cannot  believe  what 
trouble  I  had  to  keep  them  till  the  corn  was  cut." 

On  the  twenty-fourth,  he  withdrew,  with  all  his 
I  ami}',  to  the  fortified  post  at  Irondequoit  Bay, 
hvlience  he  proceeded  to  Niagara,  in  order  to  ac- 
complish his  favorite  purpose  of  building  a  fort 
there.  The  troops  were  set  at  work,  and  a  stock- 
ade was  planted  on  the  point  of  land  at  the  eastern 
angle  between  the  River  Niagara  and  Lake  Ontario, 
the  site  of  the  ruined  fort  built  by  La  Salle  nine 
lyears  before.'  Here  he  left  a  hundred  men,  under 
[the  Chevalier  de  Troj-es,  and,  embarking  with  the 
rest  of  the  army,  descended  to  Montreal. 

The  campaign  was  but  half  a  success.     Joined 

^  Pioces-verhal  de.  la  Prise  de  Possession  de  Niagara,  31  Juillet,  1G87. 
There  are  curious  errors  of  date  in  this  document  regarding  the  proceed 
D!/s  of  La  Salle. 


i  i 


166 


DENONVILLE  AND  THE  SENEGAS. 


11C87. 


Ill 


to  the  capture  of  the  English  traders  on  the  lakes, 
it  had,  indeed,  j^revented  the  defection  of  the 
western  Indians,  and  in  some  slight  measure  re- 
stored tlieir  respect  foi  the  French,  of  whom, 
neverlheloss,  one  of  them  was  heard  to  say  ilmt 
they  were  good  for  nothing  but  to  make  war  on 
hogs  and  corn.  As  for  the  Senecas,  tliey  wore 
more  enraged  than  hurt.  They  could  rebuild  their 
bark  villages  in  a  few  weeks;  and,  though  they 
had  lost  their  harvest,  their  confederates  would 
not  let  them  starve.*  A  converted  Iroquois  hud 
told  the  governor  before  his  departure  that,  if  he 
overset  a  wasps'  nest,  he  must  crush  the  wasps,  or 
th^y  would  sting  him.  Denonville  left  the  wasps 
alive. 

Denonville's  Campaign  against  the  Sknecas.  —  The  chief 
authorities  on  this  matter  arc  tho  journal  of  Denonville,  of  which 
there  is  a  translation  in  the  Colonial  Documenis  of  New  Ynd, 
IX.  ;  the  letters  of  Denonville  to  the  Minister  ;  the  I^{at  Pre'mi 
de  Pl^ylise  de  la  Colonie  FraiK^'cdae,  by  Bishop  Saint- Vallier ;  the 
Jlecueil  df  cc  qui  s^cst  passe  en  Canada  au  Siijct  de  la  Guerre,  laid 
des  Anr/lais  que  des  Iroquois,  depuis  Vannee  1G82 ;  and  the  exciHont 
account  by  Abbe  IJehnont  in  his  chronicle  called  Jlisloire  da  Ca- 
nada. To  these  may  be  added  La  llontan,  Tonty,  Nicolas  Pcirut, 
La  Potherie,  and  the  Senecas  examined  before  the  authorities  of 
Albany,  whose  statements  are  printed  in  the  Colonial  Documcnln, 
111.  These  are  the  original  sources.  Charlevoix  drew  his  ac- 
count from  a  portion  of  them.  It  is  inexact,  and  needs  tlie  cor- 
rection of  his  learned  annotator,  Mr.  Shea.  Colden,  Smith,  ami 
other  English  writers  follow  La  llontan. 

The  researches  of  Mr.  O.  IL  Marshall,  of  Buffalo,  have  leltuol 
reasonable  doubt  as  to  the  scene  of  the  battle,  and  the  site  of  the 
neighboring  town.     The  Seneca  ambuscade  was  on  the  marsii  and 

^  The  statement  of  some  later  writers,  that  many  of  tlie  ScnecaJ 
died  during  the  following  winter  in  consequence  of  the  loss  of  their 
corn,  is  extremely  doubtful.     Captain  Duplessis,  in  his  Plan  for  the  bf\ 
fence  of  Canada,  1G90,  declares  that  not  one  of  them  perished  of  hunger 


1687.1 


CAMPAIGN  ACAIXST  TIIR  SENEGAS. 


157 


the  bill"  iinmcdiatt'ly  north  and  wost  of  tho  present  village  of 
Victor:  and  their  eliief  town,  culled  (liinnaparo  hy  Denonville, 
wa.s  on  thy  top  of  Houj^hton's  Ilill,  jiboiit  u  niilo  and  a  (inarter  diH- 
tint.  Imiiu'iise  (quantities  of  Indian  remains  were  foniieily  found 
l,,.rt',  and  m.iny  are  found  to  this  day.  Charred  eorn  has  been 
tiirii'tl  >'!'  '"  abundance  by  the  plouj^h,  showinj;  chat  the  place  was 
iK'stroyt'd  by  fire.  The  remains  of  the  fort  burned  by  tlic  French 
are  still  pliduly  visible  on  a  hill  a  nnle  and  a  quarter  from  the  an- 
cient town.  A  plan  of  it  will  bo  found  in  Squier's  Ahorif/inal 
aimnnfiuts  of  New  York.  Tho  site  of  the  three  other  Seneca  towns 
(jostroveil  by  Denonville,  and  called  Totiakton,  Gannondata,  and 
(iannonganie,  can  also  be  identified.  See  Marshall,  in  CoHectionit 
S.  Y.  Ulst.  Soc,  2d  Series,  II.  Indian  traditions  of  historical 
events  are  ustially  almost  worthless  ;  but  tho  old  Seneca  chief 
Dyunehogawah,  or  "John  Blacksmith,"  who  was  living;  a  few 
years  ago  at  the  Tonawanda  reservation,  recounted  to  Mr.  Mar- 
gball  with  remarkable  accuracy  the  story  of  the  battle  as  handed 
down  from  his  ancestors  who  lived  at  Gannagaro,  close  to  the 
scene  of  action.  Gannagaro  was  tho  Canagorah  of  Wentworth 
Grooniiljiii'''  Journal.  The  old  Seneca,  on  bein^-  shown  a  map  of 
the  locality,  placed  his  finger  on  the  spot  wbere  tho  fight  took 
place,  and  which  was  long  known  to  the  Senecas  by  the  name  of 
Dyagodiyu,  or  '•  The  Place  of  a  Battle."  It  answers  in  tho  moflt 
perfect  manner  to  the  French  contemporary  descriptions. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

1687-1689. 

THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION. 

Altercations.  —  Attitude  of  Dongan.  —  Martial  PREPARATioy.- 
Perplexity  of  Denonville.  —  Angry  Correspondence.— Re. 
CALL  of  Dongan.  —  Sir  Edmund  Andros.  —  Humiliation  o? 
Denonviele.  —  Di.stress  of  Canada.  —  Appeals  for  Help,- 
Iroquois  Diplomacy.  —  A  Huron  Macciiiavel.  —  Tin;  Cms- 
TRopiiE. — Ferocity  of  the  Victors.  —  War  with  England.-j 
Kecall  of  Denonville. 


WiiEN  Dongan  henra  that  the  French  had  in- 
vaded the  Senecas,  seized  Enghsh  traders  on  the 
lakeSj  and  built  a  fort  at  Niagara,  his  wrath  \m\ 
kindh'd  anew.     He  sent  to  the  Iroquois,  and  sum- 
moned  them  to  meet  him  at  Albany  ;    told  tliel 
assembled  chiefs  that  the  late  calamity  had  fallen 
upon  them  because  they  had  held  councils  will] 
the  French  without  asking  his  leave  ;  forbade  them 
to  do  so  again,  and  informed  them  that,  as  subjects 
of  King  James,  they  must  make  no  treaty,  except 
bv  the  consent  of  his  representative,  the  govcrnorl 
of    New   York.     He    declared    that   the  Otta^vasl 
and   other  remote    tribes   were   also  British  sub-l 
jects ;    that  the  Iroquois  should  unite  with  tliein,| 
to  expel  the  French  from  the  west ;  and  that  all 
alike  should  bring  down  their  beaver  skins  to  tlifi 
English  at  Albany.    Moreover,  he  enjoined  them  \i 


1687.1 


ATTITUDE  OF  DONG  AN. 


159 


receive  no  more  French  Jesuits  into  their  towns, 
and  to  call  home  their  countrymen  whom  these 
father-  had  converted  and  enticed  to  Can«ada. 
^Obey  my  commands,"  added  the  governor,  "for 
tliat  is  the  only  way  to  eat  well  and  sleep  well, 
without  fear  or  disturbance."  The  Iroquois,  who 
wanted  his  help,  seemed  to  assent  to  all  he  said. 
'•We  will  fight  the  French,"  exclaimed  their  orator, 
^'as  long  as  w^e  have  a  man  left."  ^ 

At  the  same  time,  Dongan  wrote  to  Denonville 
(lemaiKling  the  immediate  surrender  of  the  Dutch 
and  English  captured   on  the  lakes.     Denonville 
angrily  replied  that  he  would  keep  the  prisoners, 
since  Dongan  had  broken  the  treaty  of  neutrality 
I'bv'' giving  aid  and  comfort  to  the  savages."     The 
English  governor,  in  return,  upbraided  his  corre- 
spondent for  invading   British  territory.     "  I  will 
endevour  to  protect   his  Majesty's  subjects    here 
from  your  unjust  invasions,  till  I  hear  from  the 
I  King,  my  Master,  who  is  the  greatest  and  most 
I  glorious  Monarch  that  ever  set  on  a  Throne,  and 
Uoidd  do    as    much  to  propagate    the    Christian 
faith  as  any  prince  that  lives.     He  did  not  send  me 
here  to  suffer  you  to  give  laws  to  his  subjects.     I 
liope,  notwithstanding   all   your  trained  souldiers 
and  greate  Officers  come  from  Europe,  that  our  . 
[masters  at  home  wdll  suffer  us  to  do  ourselves  jus- 
tice on  you  for  the  injuries  and  spoyl^3  y^ou  have 
jconnnitted   on  us ;  and    I  assure  you,  Sir,  if  my 
Master  gives  leave,  I  will  be  as  soon  at  Quebeck  as 

^  Domian's  Proposition-,  to  the  Five  Nations ;  Answer  of  tht  Five  Nations, 
\h\  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  438,  441. 


X, 


160 


THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION. 


[1687-88 


1 1 


you  shall  be  att  Albany.  What  you  alleage  con- 
cerning my  assisting  the  Sinnakees  (Senecas)  Avith 
arms  and  ammunition  to  warr  against  you  was 
never  given  by  mee  untill  the  sixt  of  August  last, 
when  understanding  of  your  unjust  proceedings 
in  invading  the  King  my  Master's  territorys  in  a 
hostill  manner,  I  then  gave  them  powder,  lead,  and 
armes,  and  united  the  five  nations  together  to  de- 
fend that  part  of  our  King's  dominions  from  your 
injurious  invasion.  And  as  for  offering  them  men,  in 
that  you  doe  me  wrong,  our  men  being  all  buisy  then 
at  their  harvest,  aud  I  leave  itt  to  your  judgment 
whether  there  was  any  occasion  wdien  only  foure 
hundred  of  them  engaged  with  your  whole  army. 
I  advise  you  to  send  home  all  the  Christian  and 
Indian  prisoners  the  King  of  England's  subjects 
you  unjustly  do  deteine.  This  is  what  I  have 
thought  fitt  to  answer  to  your  reflecting  and  pro- 
voking letter."  * 

As  for  the  French  claims  to  the  Iroquois  country  i 
and  the  upper  lakes,  he  turned  them  to  ridicule.  | 
They  were  founded,  in  part,  on  the  missions  estab- 
lished there  by  the  Jesuits.     "  The  King  of  China,"! 
observes  Dongan,  "  never  goes  anywhere  without 
two  Jessuits  with  him.     I  wonder  you  make  not 
the  like  pretence  to  that  Kingdome."     He  speaks! 
with  equal  irony  of  the  claim  based  on  discovery:! 
"  Pardon  me  if  I  say  itt  is  a  mistake,  except  you  will! 
affirme  that  a  few  loose  fellowes  rambling  aniongstl 
Indians  to  keep  themselves  from  starving  gives  thel 
French  a  right  to  the  Countrey."     And  of  the  clairaj 

1  Dongan  to  Denonville,  9  Sept.,  1687,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.}  III.  472. 


1687-88.] 


MARTIAL  PREPARATION. 


161 


based  on  geographical  divisions  :  ^^  Your  reason  is 
lliiit  some  rivers  or  rivoletts  of  tbit;  country  run 
out  into  the  great  river  of  Canada.  0  just 
God!  what  new.  farr-fetched.  and  unheard-of  pre 
teiice  is  this  for  a  title  to  a  country.  The  French 
King  may  have  as  good  a  pretence  to  all  those 
Coiiutrys  that  drink  clarett  and  Brandy."  '  In 
spite  of  his  sarcasms,  it  .is  clear  that  the  claim  of 
prior  discovery  and  occupation  was  on  the  side  of 
the  French. 

The  dispute  now  assumed  a  new  phase.  Jiimes 
II.  at  length  consented  to  own  the  Iroquois  as  his 
subjects,  ordering  Dongan  to  protect  them,  and 
repel  the  French  by  force  of  arms,  should  they 
attack  them  again.^  At  the  same  time,  conferences 
were  opened  at  London  between  the  French  am- 
bassador and  the  English  commissioners  appointed 
to  settle  the  questions  at  issue.  Both  disputants 
claimed  the  Iroquois  as  subjects,  and  the  contest 
[wore  an  aspect  more  serious  than  before. 

The  royal  declaration  was  a  great  relief  to  Don- 
[gan.  Thus  far  he  had  acted  at  his  own  risk  ;  now 
he  was  sustained  by  the  orders  of  his  king.  lie 
[instantly  assumed  a  warlike  attitude ;  and,  in  the 
lext  spring,  wrote  to  the  Earl  of  Sunderland 
(hat  lie  liad  Ijeen  at  Albany  all  winter,  with  four 
mndred  infantry,  fifty  horsemen,  and  eight  hun- 
Ired  Indians.  This  was  not  without  cause,  for  a 
[eport  had  come  from   Canada    tliat  the    French 


'  Do)i(jau's  Fourth  Paper  to  the  French  Arjents,  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  528. 
'^  Wamiut  authorizing  Governor  Dongan  to  protect  the  Five  Nations,  10 
hv.,  lGo7,  :V.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  503.  " 

11 


162 


THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION. 


|I687-8a 


1 


were  a()oiit  to  march  on  Albany  to  destroy  it. 
"And  now,  my  Lord/'  continues  Dongan,  'Sve 
must  build  forts  in  y®  countrey  upon  y°  great 
Lnkes,  as  y®  French  doe,  otherwise  we  lose  \* 
Countrey,  y®  Bever  trade,  and  our  Indians."' 
Denonville,  meanwhile,  had  begun  to  yield,  and 
promised  to  send  back  McGregory  and  the  men 
captured  with  him.^  Dongan,  not  satisfied,  in- 
sisted on  payment  for  all  the  captured  merchandise, 
and  on  the  immediate  demolition  of  Fort  Niagara. 
He  added  another  demand,  which  must  have  been 
singularly  galling  to  his  rival.  It  was  to  the  effect 
that  the  Iroquois  prisoners  seized  at  Fort  Frontenac, 
and  sent  to  the  galleys  in  France,  should  be  sur- 
rendered as  British  subjects  to  the  English  ambas- 
sador at  Paris  or  the  secretary  of  state  in  London.' | 

Denonville  was  sorely  perplexed.     He  was  ha 
pressed,  and  eager  for  peace  with  the  Iroquois  at  I 
any  price;  but  Dongnn  was  using  every  means  to 
prevent  their  treating  of  peace  Avith  the  French | 
governor  until  he  had  complied  with  all  the  Eng- 
lish demands.     In  this  extremity,  Denonville  sentl 
Father  Vaillant  to  Albany,  in  the  hope  of  bringing 
his  intractable  rival  to  conditions  less  humiliatinff| 
The  Jesuit  played  his  part  with  ability,  and  proved 
TixOre  than  a  match  for  his  adversary  in  dialectics;! 
but  Donffaii  held  fast  to  all  his  demands.     Vaillantl 


'  L-ryiw  10  SwiaW'and,  Fd.,  1688,  N.  Y.  Col  Docs.,  III.  510. 

'*  I.i'honciHe  h  Dongan,  2  Oct.,  1087.  McGregory  soon  arrived,  an 
Dor.^jai!  out  hirr  bnck  to  Car.ada  as  an  emissary  witli  a  civil  me^sagel 
Denonviiit.     Jy-^u^au   <>  DenomUle,  10  Nov.,  1687. 

«  L'rr.gan  io  Dmonville,  31  Oc^,  1687  ;  Dongan's  First  Demand  of  < 
French  Ai/.n-'s,  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  615,  520. 


1(587-88,] 


ANGRY  CORRESPONDENCE. 


163 


tried  to  temporize,  and  asked  for  a  truce,  with  a 

view  to  a  final  settlement  by  reference  to  the  two 

kings.'     Dongan  referred  the  question  to  a  meeting 

of  Iroquois  chiefs,  who  declared  in  reply  that  they 

woiikl  make  neither  peace  nor  truce  till  Fort  Niagara 

^as  flcmolished    and   all    the    prisoners    restored. 

Dongan,  well  pleased,  commended  their  spirit,  and 

assured  them  that  King  James, "  who  is  the  greatest 

mnn  the  sunn  shines  uppon,  and  never  told  a  ly  in 

his  life,  has  given  you  his  Eoyall  word  to  protect 

voii."  ^  A^aillant  returned  from  his  bootless  errand  ; 

and  a  stormy  correspondence  followed  between  the 

two  governors.     Dongan   renewed   his   demands, 

then  protested  his  wish  for  peace,  extolled  King 

James  for  his  pious  zeal,  and  declared  that  he  vv^as 

I  sending  over  missionaries  of  his  ov/n  to  convert  the 

I  Iroquois.^     What  Denon^ille  wanted  was  not  their 

conversion   by  Englishmen,  but  their  conversion 

by  Frenchmen,  and  the  presence  in  their  towns 

lof  those  most  useful  political  agents,  the  Jesuits.'* 

[He  replied  angrily,  charging  Dongan  with  prevent- 

jing  the  conversion  of  the  Iroquois  by  driving  off 

jthe  French  missionaries,  and  accusing  him,  farther, 

)f  instii'-atino;  the  tribes  of  New  York  to  attack 

'  Tlie  papers  of  this  discussion  will  be  found  in  A".  Y.  Col.  Docs. ,111, 

■  Donrjan's  Rcpli/  to  the  Five  Nations,  Ibid.,  III.  5o5. 

'  Don^inn  to  Dc'novvilk,  17  Feb.,  16S8,  Tbid.,  III.  510. 

*  "II  y  0  une  necessite  indispensable  pour  les  interais  de  la  Religion  et 

la  Colonie  de  rcstablir  les  missionaires  Jesuites  dans  tous  les  villages 
roquois :  ri  vous  ne  trouvcs  moyen  de  faire  retourner  ces  Peres  dans 
|urs  ancionnes  missions,  vous  devc's  en  atteudre  beaueoup  de  malheur 
ourcette  Colonie  ;  car  je  dois  vous  dir^  que  jusqu'icy  c'est  leur  liability 
iii  a  soutcnu  les  affaires  du  pays  par  leur  s^avoir-faire  a  gouverner  les 
Iprita  de  ces  b:':-\''res,  qui  ne  sont  Sauvages  que  de  nom."  Denonvilla, 
Vmire  adrcss^  au  Ministre,  9  Nov.,  1688. 


I  l! 


1G4 


THE  IROQUOIS   INVASION. 


[1087-88 


Canada.'  Suddenly  there  was  a  change  in  tin 
temper  of  his  letters,  lie  wrote  to  his  rival  in 
terms  of  studied  civility ;  declared  that  lie  wislicil 
he  could  meet  him,  and  consult  with  him  on  the 
best  means  of  advancing  the  cause  of  true  religion' 
begged  that  he  would  not  refuse  him  his  liiend. 
ship  ;  and  thanked  him  in  warm  terms  for  befriend- 
ing some  French  prisoners  whom  he  had  saved  from 
the  Iroquois,  and  treated  with  great  kindness.^ 

This  change  was  due  to  despatches  from  Ver- 
sailles, in  which  Denonville  was  informed  that  the 
matters  in  dispute  would  soon  be  amicably  settled 
by  the  commissioners  ;  that  he  was  to  keep  on  good  i 
terms  with  the  English  commanders,  and,  wh 
pleased  him  still  more,  that  the  king  of  England  i 
was  about  to  recall  Dongan.^  In  fact,  James  IL| 
had  resolved  on  remodelling  his  American  colonies. 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  New  England  liad| 
been  formed  int .  one  government  under  Sir  Ed- 
mund Andros  ;  and  Dongan  was  summoned  homej 
where  a  regiment  was  given  him,  with  the  rank  oi| 
major-general  of  artillery.  Denonville  says  tliatj 
in  bis  efforts  to  extend  Enalish  trade  to  the  Great! 


1  iJenonvllle  a  Domjan,  24  AvrU,  1688;  Ibid.,  12  Mai,  1688.    Whettier| 
the  charge  is  true  is  questionable.     Dongan  had  just  written  that,  if  tb 
Iroquois  did  harm  to  the  French,  he  was  ordered  to  offer  eatisfactioiii 
and  iiad  ah'cady  done  so. 

'^  Denonville  a  Domjan,  18  Juin,  1688;  Ibid.,  6  Jnilhit,  1688:  //)/(/,,  1 
Aug.,  1(J88.  "  Je  n'ai  done  qu'a  vous  asseurer  que  toute  la  Colonie  auB 
tr^s-parfaite  reconnoissance  dcs  bons  offices  que  ces  pauvres  niallieurea 
ont  rc<;u  de  vou'^  et  de  v«a  peuples." 

3  Mtfinoire  ponr  servir  d' hint nict ion  nil  Sr.  ifarfjnis  de  Denonvilk,  8  ^h 
1G88  ;  Le  Roji  a  Denonrillc,  invnic  data  ;  Scii/iulai/  u  Denonville,  tiii'me.  da'i 
Louis  XIV.  had  demanded  Dongan's  recall.    How  far  this  had  iiifluouo 
the  action  of  James  II.  it  is  diflicult  to  sav. 


1687-88.] 


SIR  EDMUND  ANDROS. 


165 


Lakes  and  the  Mississippi,  his  late  rival  had  been 
inOuenced  by  motives  of  personal  gain.  Be  this 
as  it  may,  he  was  a  bold  and  vigorous  defender  of 
the  claims  of  the  British  crown. 

Sir  p]dinund  Andros  now  reigned  over  New 
York;  and,  by  the  terms  of  his  commission,  his  rule 
stretched  westward  to  the  Pacific.  The  usual 
official  courtesies  passed  between  him  and  Denon- 
ville;  but  Andros  renewed  all  the  demands  of  his 
predecessor,  claimed  the  Iroquois  as  subjects,  and 
iforbade  the  French  to  attack  them.'  The  new  gov- 
Ifrnor  was  worse  than  the  old.  Denonville  wrote 
to  the  minister  :  ."  I  send  you  copies  of  his  letters 
jby  which  you  will  see  that  the  spirit  of  Dongan 
Ihas  entered  into  the  heart  of  his  successor,  who 
liiiay  be  less  passionate  and  less  interested,  but  who 
p.  to  say  the  least,  quite  as  much  opposed  to  us, 
ind  perhaps  more  dangerous  by  his  suppleness  and 
Smoothness  than  the  other  was  bv  his  violence. 
^hat  he  has  just  done  among  the  Iroquois,  whom 
k'  pretends  to  be  under  his  government,  and  whom 
^e  prevents  from  coming  to  meet  me,  is  a  certain 
roo[  that  neither  he  nor  the  other  English  gov- 
krnors,  nor  their  people,  will  refrain  from  doing 
)is  colony  all  the  harm  they  can."  ^ 
While  these  things  were  passing,  the  state  of 
Banada  was  deplorable,   and    the    position    of   its 

1  Amhm  to  DenonvWc,  21  Aug.,  1(588  ;   Jh'nl,  29  Sept.,  1688. 

.1/;  noire  del' J'Jsldt  Prdsont  da^  Ajpiires  de  ce  Pai/s  dopuis  la  \^m<>.  Aoust, 

'.     "I'i'aii  dernier  Octohrede  la  rnesme  anv(fe.    He  (U'clarcs  that  the  Eng- 

^1   re  iilwavh  "  itchinjr  for  tlie  western  trade,"  that  their  favorite  phm 

»f>  establish  a  post  on  the  Ohio,  and  that  they  have  made  the  attempt 

tec  times  alreadv. 


166 


THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION. 


governor  as   mortifying  as   it  was    painful.     ]U 
thought  with  good  reason  that  the  maintentuice  oi 
the  new  fort  at  Niagara  was  of  great  iuiportaiicJ 
to  i\iQ  colon}^,  and  he  had  repeatedly  refused  tlie 
demands  of  Dongan  and  the  Iroquois  for  its  demoli- 
tion.    But  a  power  greater  than  sachems  and  gov- 
ernors presently  intervened.     The  provisions  luftl 
at  Niagara,  though  abundant,  were  atrociously  badi 
Scurvy  and  other  malignant  diseases  soon  biukel 
out   among    the    sohliers.     The    Senecas   pruwle(l| 
about  the   phice,  and   no  man   dared  venture  out| 
for  hunting,  fishing,  or  firewood.'     The  fort  w( 
first  a  prison,  then  a  hospital,  then  a  charnel-lioiiseJ 
till  before  spring  the  garrison  of  a  hundred  iiiei! 
was  reduced  to  ten  or  twelve.     In  this  coudltioni 
they  were  found   towards  the  end  of  April  by 
large  wor-party  of  friendly  Miamis,  who  cnteid 
the  place  and  held  it  till  a  French  detachuieiit  nj 
length  arrived  for  its  relief.^    The  garrison  of  For 
Frontenac   had   suffered    from    the    same   Q'dwm 
though  not  to  the  same  degree.    Denonville  fearej 
that  he  should  be  forced  to  abandon  them  botli 
The  way  was  so  long  and  so  dangerous,  and 
governor  had  grown  of  late  so  cautious,  that  lij 
dreaded  the  risk  of  maintaining:  such  remote  con 
munications.     On  second  thouL>ht,  he  resolved 
keep  Frontenac  and  sacrifice  Niagara.     He  proc 
ised  Dongan   that  he  would  demolish  it,  and 
kept  his  w^ord.^ 

^  DouoiW'Wle,  Memoire  du  10  ''?«!',  1688. 

2  Ixeciu  il  de  cp.  (jiii  s'<sf  p(iss<f  >  'nnuda  dcptu's  fann^e  1082.  TIio  wrii 
i«'as  an  officer  of  the  dotachmei.  id  dctcu-ibos  Avliat  he  saw.  Coiiip^ 
La  Pothorie,  II.  210  ;  -ind  La  V  w,  1.  1;}1  (1709). 

3  JJcnonville  a  Lotu  m,  20  A  .st,  1688  ;  Procks-verhal  of  the  Condim 


DISTRESS  OF   CANADA. 


167 


He  was  forced  to  another  and  a  deeper  humilia- 
tion. At  the  hnperioiis  demand  of  Dongan  and 
Itlie  h'oqiiois,  he  begged  the  king  to  send  back  the 
prisoners  entra])pe(]  at  Fort  Frontenac,  and  he 
wrote  to  the  minister  :  ''  Be  i)leased,  Monseigneur, 
to  reiiieuiber  that  I  had  the  hoi. or  to  tell  you 
that,  in  order  to  attain  the  peace  necessary  to  the 
country,  I  was  obliged  to  ])romise  that  1  would  beg 
voii  to  send  back  to  us  the  prisoners  1  sent  \  ou 
last  year.  I  know  you  gave  orders  that  they  should 
be  well  treated,  but  1  am  informed  that,  though 
they  were  w^ell  enough  treated  at  first,  your  orders 
Kvere  not  afterwards  executed  with  the  same  fidelity. 
If  ill  treatment  has  caused  them  {dl  to  die,  —  for 
they  are  people  who  easily  fall  into  dejection,  and 
who  die  of  it,  —  and  if  none  of  them  come  back, 
1  do  not  know  at  all  whether  we  can  persuade 
Ithese  barbarians  not  to  attack  us  again."  ^ 

What  had  brought  the  marquis  to  this  pass  ? 
iFdinine,  destitution,  disease,  and  the  Iroquois  were 
liuaking  Canada  their  prey.  The  fur  trade  had 
Ibeen  stopped  for  two  years  ;  and  the  people,  bereft 
lof  their  only  means  of  subsistence^  could  contrib- 
jiite  nothing  to  their  own  defence.  Above  Three 
|Eiver.s,  the  whole  population  was  imprisoned  in 
stockade   forts   hastily   built   in   every  seigniory."^ 

^ortNhf/iira,  1688  ;  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  880.  The  puli-sados  were  torn 
down  bv  Duiionville's  order  on  the  lotli  of  Sejitember,  Tlie  rude  dwell- 
pngsaiul  storeiioiises  wliich  they  enclosed,  together  with  a  large  wooden 
cross,  were  left  standing.  The  connnundant  De  Troyes  htid  died,  and 
-apt;iin  Desbergeres  had  been  sent  to  succeed  liini. 

'  Denonville,  Memoire  da  10  Aoiist,  1688. 

-  Ill  the  Depot  des  Cartes  de  la  Marine,  there  is  a  contemporarj 
ttanuscript  map,  on  which  all  these  forts  are  laid  down. 


168 


THK   IR()Qi:OIS   INVASION. 


|lft88 


I 


ITcro  they  were  safe,  provided  that  they  never 
ventured  out ;  hut  theh'  fields  were  left  untilled, 
and  the  governor  was  already  eoinpelled  to  feed 
many  of  tliem  nt  the  ex})ense  of  the  king.  The 
Iroquois  roaiued  among  the  deserted  settlements 
or  prowled  like  lynxes  ahout  the  forts,  wayl;iyin(f 
convoys  and  killiug  or  cjipturnig  stragglers.  Their 
war-parties  were  usually  small ;  hut  their  move- 
ments were  so  mysterious  and  their  atuicks  so 
sudden,  that  they  spread  a  universal  panic  tliroutrh 
the  upper  half  of  the  colony.  They  were  the 
wasps  which  Denonville  had  failed  to  kill. 

"  We  should  succumh,"  wrote  the  distressed  gov- 
ernor, ''  it'  our  cause  were  not  the  cause  of  God. 
Your  Majesty's  zeal  for  rehgion,  and  the  great 
things  you  have  done  for  the  destruction  of 
heres}^,  encourage   me  to   hope  that  you  will  he 

the  hulwark  of  the  Faith  in  the  new  world  as  vou 

i/ 

are  in  the  old.     I  cannot  iirive  vou  a  truer  idea 
of  the  war  we  have  to  w^nge  with  the  Iroquois  than 
by  comparing  tliem  to  a  great  number  of  wolve?j 
or  other  ferocious  beasts,  issuing  out  of  a  vast  forest | 
to  ravage  the  neighboring  settlements.    The  people 
gather  to  hunt  them  down  ;  but  nobody  can  find 
their   lair,   for   they  are  always   in    motion.    An 
abler  man  than  I  would  be  greatly  at  a  loss  to 
manage  the  affairs  of  this  country.     It  is  for  tlie 
interest  of  the  colony  to  have  peace  at  any  cost 
whatever.    For  the  glory  of  the  king  and  the  gooi]| 
of  religion,  we  should  be  gkad  to  have  it  an  advan- 
tageous one ;  and  so  it  would  have  been,  but  for  tbel 


rnnlire  of 

given  our 

And  y( 

foiTc  at  li 
reifiilai's  ^ 
teen  hiuK 
liiindrod  I 
cokmw  oJ 
under  \'ai 
rreaL     Al 
niiinerous 
onv  in  terj 
rei^^ilars. 
fairs  grew 
judging   t] 
take  the   c 
double  atta 
die  Onond 
lliawks  and 
I  as  he  propc 
I  must  pass 
'the  attemp 
'treaty  of 
ttiie  kinn:  t( 
|accoinplish 
jf^eoonded   hi 
jvolved,"  wr 
[Iroquoi.s  are 
|of  the  gospe 

^  Denourille   a 
'iUmom  da  9  No, 
■  Plan  for  the! 
^  I)enonvilIe, 


1] 


APPEAL  FOR   HKLP. 


1G9 


iiiftliVe  of  the  Enj^li.sli  find  the  protection  tlioy  liave 
ifiven  our  enemies."  ' 

And  yet  he  bad,  one  would  think,  a  reasonable 
force  lit  his  disposal.  His  thirty-two  companies  of 
retnilars  were  reduced  by  this  time  to  about  four- 
teen li  111  id  red  men,  but  he  hiul  also  three  or  four 
IiuiuIrmI  Indian  converts,  besides  the  militia  of  the 
colonv,  of  whom  he  had  stationed  a  large  body 
iiiiflcr  \'juidreuil  at  the  liead  of  the  Tslnnd  of  Moi)- 
tioal.  All  told,  they  were  several  times  more 
numerous  than  the  agile  warriors  who  held  the  col- 
onv in  terror.  He  asked  for  eight  hundred  more 
reirulars.  The  king  sent  him  three  hundred.  Af- 
fairs grew  worse,  and  he  gi'ew  desperate.  Rightly 
judging  that  the  best  meaiis  of  defence  was  to 
take  the  offensive,  he  conceived  the  plan  of  a 
double  attack  on  the  Iroquois,  one  army  to  assail 
the  Onondagas  and  Cayugas,  another  the  Mo- 
iiowks  and  Oneidas.^  Since  to  reach  the  Mohawks 
a?  he  proposed,  by  the  way  of  Lake  Champlain,  he 
must  pass  through  territory  indisputably  British, 
the  attempt  would  be  a  flagrant  violation  of  the 
treaty  of  neutrality.  Nevertheless,  he  implored 
[the  kuvj-  to  send  him  four  thousand  soldiers  to 
lacconiplish  it.^  His  fast  friend,  the  bishop,  warmly 
If^oponded  his  appeal.  "  The  glory  of  God  is  in- 
jvolved,"  wrote  the  head  of  the  church,  "  for  the 
Iroquois  are  the  only  tribe  who  oppose  the  progress 
of  the  gospel.     The  glory  of  the  king  is  involved, 

^  Denonville  (in   Rni/,  1G88  ;   Ibid.,  M€moire  da  10  Aoust,   1G88;   Ibid., 
lUmoirp.  dn  9  Nov.,  1688. 

-  Plan  for  die  Tcrininattnn  of  the  Trorpinis  War,  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX  375 
^  Denonville,  M(f moire  du  8  Aoust,  1G88. 


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Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY,  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


170 


THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION. 


for  they  are  the  only  tribe  who  refuse  to  recognize 
his  grand ('ur  and  his  might.  They  hold  the  French 
in  the  deepest  contempt ;  and,  unless  they  are  com- 
pletely humbled  within  two  years,  his  Majesty  ^vil] 
have  no  colony  left  in  Canada."  ^  And  the  prelate 
proceeds  to  tell  the  minister  how,  in  his  opinion. 
the  war  ought  to  be  conducted.  The  a[)peal 
was  vain.  "  His  Majesty  agrees  with  you,"  wrote 
Seignelay,  "  that  three  or  four  thousand  men 
would  be  the  best  means  of  making  peace,  but 
he  cannot  spare  them  now.  If  the  enemy  breaks 
out  again,  raise  the  inhabitants,  and  fight  as  Avell 
as  you  can  till  his  Majesty  is  prepared  to  send  you 
troops."  '^ 

A  hope  had  dawned  on  the  governor.  He  bad 
been  more  active  of  late  in  negotiating  than  in 
fighting,  and  liis  diplomacy  had  prospered  more 
than  his  arms.  It  may  be  remembered  that  some 
of  the  Iroquois  entrapped  at  Fort  Froiitenac 
had  been  given  to  their  Christian  relatives  in  the 
mission  villages.  Here  they  had  since  remained. 
Denonville  thought  that  he  might  use  them  as 
messengers  to  their  heathen  countrymen,  and  he 
sent  one  or  more  of  them  to  Onondaga  with  gifts 
and  overtures  of  peace.  That  shrewd  old  politi- 
cian, Big  Mouth,  was  still  strong  in  inlluence  at 
the  Iroquois  capital,  and  his  name  was  great  to  the 
farthest  bounds  of  the  confederacy.  He  knew  by 
personal  experience  the  advantages  of  a  neatral 


1  Saint- Vallicr,  M^moire  sur  les  Affaires  du  Canada  pour  Monseigniia  I 
U  Marquis  de  Seignelay. 

'^  M^inoire  du  Ministre  adress€a  Denonville,  1  Mai,  1689. 


IROQUOIS  DIPLOMACY. 


171 


position  between  the  rival  European  powers,  from 
both  of  whom  he  received  gifts  and  attentions ;  and 
he  saw  that  what  was  good  for  him  was  good  for 
the  confederacy,  since,  if  it  gave  itself  to  neither 
party,  both  would  court  its  alliance.  In  his  opin- 
ion, it  had  now  leaned  long  enough  towards  the 
Engli.^h ;  and  a  change  of  attitude  had  become  ex- 
pedient. Therefore,  as  Denonville  promised  the 
return  of  the  prisoners,  and  was  plainly  ready  to 
make  other  concessions.  Big  Mouth,  setting  at 
naught  the  prohibitions  of  Andros,  consented  to  a 
conference  with  the  French.  He  set  out  at  his 
leisure  for  Montreal,  with  six  Onondaga,  Cayuga, 
and  Oneida  chiefs ;  and,  as  no  diplomatist  ever  under- 
stood better  the  advantage  of  negotiating  at  the 
head  of  an  imposing  force,  a  body  of  Iroquois  war- 
riors, to  the  number,  it  is  said,  of  twelve  hundred, 
set  out  before  him,  and  silently  took  path  to 
Canada. 

The  ambassadors  paddled  across  the  lake  and 
presented  themselves  before  the  commandant  of 
Fort  Frontenac,  who  received  them  with  distinction, 
and  ordered  Lieutenant  Perelle  to  escort  them  to 
Montreal,  Scarcely  had  the  officer  conducted  his 
august  charge  five  leagues  on  their  way,  when,  to 
his  amazement,  he  found  himself  in  the  midst  of 
six  hundred  Iroquois  warriors,  who  amused  them- 
selves for  a  time  with  his  terror,  and  then  accom- 
panied him  as  far  as  Lake  St.  Francis,  where  he 
found  another  body  of  savages  nearly  equal  in 
number.     Here  the  warriors  halted,  and  the  am- 


172 


THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION. 


[10«li 


bassadors  with  their  escort  gravely  pursued  their 
way  to  meet  Deuouville  at  Montreah^ 

Big  Mouth  spoke  haughtily,  like  a  man  who  knew 
his  power.  He  told  the  governor  that  he  and  lii< 
people  were  subjects  neitlier  of  the  French  nor  of 
the  English ;  that  they  wished  to  be  friends  of 
both;  that  they  held  their  country  of  the  Grciii 
Spirit;  and  that  they  had  never  been  conquered 
in  war.  He  declared  that  the  Iroquois  knew  the 
weakness  of  the  French,  and  could  easily  extcnni- 
nate  them  ;  that  they  had  formed  a  plan  of  l)uni- 
ing  all  the  houses  and  barns  of  Canada,  kilHng  tlie 
cattle,  setting  fire  to  the  ripe  grain,  and  then. 
when  the  people  were  starving,  attacking  the  iorU- 
but  that  he,  Big  Mouth,  had  prevented  its  execu- 
tion. He  concluded  by  saying  that  he  was  allowed 
but  four  days  to  bring  back  tlie  governor's  reply ; 
and  that,  if  he  were  kept  waiting  longer,  he  would 
not  answer  for  what  might  bap^en.^  Though  it 
appeared  by  some  expressions  in  his  speech  that  he 
was  ready  to  make  peace  only  with  the  French, 
leaving  the  Iroquois  free  to  attack  the  Indian 
allies  of  the  colon^'^,  and  though,  while  the  am- 
bassadors w^ere  at  Montreal,  their  warriors  on 
the  river  above  actually  killed  several  of  the  hi- 
dian  converts,  Denonville  felt  himself  compelled 
to  pretend  ignorance  of  the  outrage.^  A  declara- 
tion of  neutrality  was  drawn  up,  and  Big  Mouth 

1  Rfhttion  dcs  Ec€nemevts  de  la  Guerre,  30  Oct.,  1688. 

2  Declaration  of  the  Iroquois  in  p-esence  of  M.  de  Denonville,  N.  Y.  Col. 
Docs.,  IX.  384  ;  Relation  des  Ev€nements  de  la  Guerre,  30  Oct.,  1688 ;  Bel- 
mont, Histoire  dn  Canada. 

*  Caliieres  a  Seignelay,  Jan.,  1689. 


A  IIUllON   MACCHIAVEL. 


173 


affixed  to  it  the  figures  of  sundry  birds  and  beasts 
as  the  signatures  of  himself  and  liis  fellow-chiefs.' 
He  promised,  too,  that  within  a  certain  time  depu- 
ties from  the  whole  confederacy  should  come  to 
Montreal  and  conclude  a  general  peace. 

The  time  arrived,  and  they  did  not  appear.  It 
became  known,  however,  that  a  number  of  chiefs 
were  coming  from  Onondaga  to  explain  the  delay, 
and  to  promise  that  the  deputies  should  soon  follow. 
The  chiefs  in  fact  were  on  their  way.  They 
reached  La  Famine,  the  scene  of  La  Barre's  meet- 
ing with  Big  Mouth ;  but  here  an  unexpected 
incident  arrested  them,  and  completely  changed 
the  aspect  of  affairs. 

Among  the  Hurons  of  Micliillimackinac  there 
was  a  chief  of  high  renown  named  Kondiaronk,  or 
the  Rat.  He  was  in  the  prime  of  life,  a  redoubted 
warrior,  and  a  sage  counsellor.  The  French  seem 
to  have  admired  him  greatly.  "  He  is  a  gallant 
man/'  says  La  Hon  tan,  "  if  ever  there  was  one ; " 
while  Charlevoix  declares  that  he  was  the  ablest 
Indian  the  French  ever  knew  in  America,  and  that 
he  had  nothing  of  the  savage  but  the  name  and  the 
dress.  In  spite  of  the  father's  eulogy,  the  moral 
condition  of  the  Rat  savored  strongly  of  the  wig- 
wam. He  had  given  Denonville  great  trouble  by 
his  constant  intrigues  with  the  Iroquois,  with  whom 
he  had  once  made  a  plot  for  the  massacre  of  his 
neighbors,  the  Ottawas,  under  cover  of  a  pretended 
treaty.^    The  French  had  spared  no  pains  to  gain 


J  !   I 


1  See  the  signatures  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  386,  386. 
'^  Nicolas  Perrot,  143. 


174 


THE   IKOQUOIS   INVASION. 


(10S8. 


him ;  and  lie  hi\u  at  longtli  been  induced  to  dcclnre 
for  tliem,  under  «i  pledge  from  the  governor  thai 
the  war  should  never  cease  till  the  Iroquois  were 
destroyed.  During  the  summer,  he  raised  a  party 
of  forty  warriors,  and  came  down  the  lake's  in 
quest  of  Iroquois  scalps.'  On  the  way^,  he  stopped 
at  Fort  Frontenac  to  hear  the  news,  when,  to  his 
amazement,  the  commandant  told  him  that  deputies 
from  Onondaga  were  coming  in  a  few  days  to  con- 
clude peace,  and  that  he  had  better  go  home  at 
once. 

"  It  is  well,"  replied  the  Rat. 

He  knew  that  for  the  Hurons  it  was  not  well. 
He  and  his  tribe  stood  fully  committed  to  the  war. 
and  for  them  peace  between  the  French  and  the 
Iroquois  would  be  a  signal  of  destruction,  since 
Denonville  could  not  or  would  not  protect  his  allies. 
The  Rat  paddled  off  with  his  warriors.  Pie  had 
secretly  learned  the  route  of  the  expected  deputie.«; 
and  he  shaped  his  course,  not,  as  he  had  pretended, 
for  Michillimackinac,  but  for  La  Famine,  where  he 
knew  that  they  would  land.  Having  reached  his 
destination,  he  watched  ancil  waited  four  or  five 
days,  till  canoes  at  length  appeared,  approaching 
from  the  direction  of  Onondaga.  On  this,  the  Rat 
and  his  friends  hid  themselves  in  the  bushes. 

The  new  comers  were  the  messengers  sent  as  I 
precursors  of  the  embassy.  At  their  head  was  a  | 
famous  personage  named  Decanisora,  or  Tegan- 
nisorens,  with  whom  were  three  other  chiefs,  and.j 
it  seems,  a  number  of  warriors.    They  had  scarcely 

•  Denonville  a  Seicjnelay,  9  Nov.,  1688.     La  Hontan  saw  the  party  !fl| 
out,  and  says  that  there  were  about  a  hundred  of  them. 


m] 


A   IIimON  MACCHIAVFX. 


175 


ion,  since 


\.^]](\oi\  when  the  ambushccl  TTiirons  f^ave  thorn  a 
vollevof  bullets,  killed  one  of  the  chiefs,  wounded 
nil  the  rest,  and  then,  rushin<j^  upon  them,  seized 
il,e  whole  party  except  a  warrior  who  escaped 
uitli  a  broken  arm.  Having  secured  his  prison- 
ers, the  Rat  told  them  that  he  had  acted  on 
the  suggestion  of  Denonville,  who  had  informed 
him  that  an  Iroquois  war-party  was  to  pass  that 
wny.  The  astonished  captives  protested  that 
they  were  envoys  of  peace.  The  Rat  put  on 
a  look  of  amazement,  then  of  horror  and  fury, 
and  presently  burst  into  invectives  against  De- 
nonville for  having  made  him  the  instrument  of 
such  atrocious  perfidy.  "  Go,  my  brothers,"  he  ex- 
claimed, "  go  home  to  your  people.  Though  there 
is  war  between  us,  I  give  you  your  liberty.  Onon- 
tio  has  made  me  do  so  black  a  deed  that  I  shall 
never  be  happy  again  till  your  five  tribes  take  a 
just  vengeance  upon  him."  After  giving  them 
gims,  powder,  and  ball,  he  sent  them  on  their  way, 

I  well  pleased  with  him  and  filled  with  rage  against 
the  governor. 
In  accordance  with  Indian  usage,  he,  however, 

Ikept  one  of  them  to  be  adopted,  as  he  declared,  in 
place  of  one  of  his  followers  whom  he  had  lost  in  the 
skirmish ;  then,  recrossing  the  lake,  he  went  alone 
to  Fort  Frontenac,  and,  as  he  left  the  gate  to  rejoin 
his  party,  he  said  coolly,  "  I  have  killed  the  peace ; 

I  we  shall  see  how  the  governor  will  get  out  of  this 

'  "  II  (lit,  J'ai  tu€  la  paix."    Belmont,  Histoire  du  Canada.    "  Le  Rat 
passa  ensuite  seul  k  Catarakouy   {Fort  Frontenac)  sans  vouloir  dire  le 
Itnur  qu'il  avoit  fait,  dit  seulement  estant  hors  de  la  porte,  en  s'en  allant, 
jXous  verrons  comme  le  gouverneur  se  tirera  d'affaire."    Denonville. 


1  il 


176 


THE  IROQUOIS   INVASION. 


[lG8a 


;     I 


business."  ^  Then,  without  loss  of  time,  he  ropairer] 
to  Michillimackinac,  and  gave  his  Iroquois  ])ris()ner 
to  the  odicer  in  command.  No  news  of  1  ho  in- 
tended peace  had  yet  reached  that  distant  outpost- 
and,  though  the  unfortunate  Iroquois  told  the  story 
of  his  mission  and  his  ciipture,  the  Rat  declared 
that  it  was  a  crazy  invention  inspired  by  the  fear 
of  death,  and  the  prisoner  was  immediately  shot  hv 
a  file  of  soldiers.  The  Rat  now  sent  for  an  old 
Iroquois  who  had  long  been  a  prisoner  ut  the 
Huron  village,  telling  him  with  a  mournful  air 
that  he  was  free  to  return  to  his  people,  and  re- 
count the  cruelty  of  the  French,  who,  had  put  their 
countryman  to  death.  The  liberated  Iroquois  faith- 
fully acquitted  himself  of  his  mission.^ 

One  incident  seemed  for  a  moment  likely  to  rob 
the  intriguer  of  the  fruits  of  his  ingenuity.  The 
Iroquois  who  had  escaped  in  the  skirmish  contrived 
to  reach  Fort  Frontenac  some  time  after  the  last 
visit  of  the  Rat.  He  told  what  had  happened  ;  and, 
after  being  treated  with  the  utmost  attention,  he 
was  sent  to  Onondaga,  charged  with  explanations 
and  regrets.  The  Iroquois  dignitaries  seemed  satis- 
fied, and  Denonville  wrote  to  the  minister  that 

1  La  Hontan,  1. 180  (1709).  Most  of  the  details  of  the  story  are  drawn 
from  tliis  writer,  wliose  statement  I  have  compared  with  that  of  Denon- 
ville, in  his  letter  dated  Nov.  9,  1688 ;  of  Callieres,  Jan.,  1689  ;  of  tlie  Ah-  j 
stract  of  Letters  from  Canada,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  393 ;  and  of  tlie 
writer  of  Relation  des  Ev^nements  de  la  Gueire,  30  Oct.,  1088.    Uelmont  j 
notices  the  affair  with  his  usual  conciseness.     La  Hontan's  account  is  j 
sustained  by  the  others  in  most,  though  not  in  all  of  its  essential  points. 
He  calls  the  Huron  chief  Adario,  on  le  Hat.    He  is  elsewhere  mentioned  j 
as  Kondiaronk,  Kondiaront,  SoUoias,  and  Soiiaiti.    La  Hontan  says  that 
the  scene  of  the  treachery  was  one  of  the  rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  | 
but  more  authentic  accounts  place  it  at  La  Famiue. 


1680.1 


A  ClUTICAL  SITUATION. 


177 


there  was  still  good  hope  of  ponce.  Tie  little  knew 
his  enemy.  They  could  dissemble  and  wait;  but 
thev  neither  believed  the  governor  nor  forgave 
him.  TTis  supposed  treachery  at  La  Famine,  and 
his  real  treachery  at  Fort  Frontenac,  fdled  them 
with  a  patient  but  imextinguishal)le  rage.  They 
pent  liini  w^ord  that  they  were  ready  to  renew  the 
negotiation ;  then  they  sent  again,  to  say  that 
Aiulros  forbade  them.  Without  doubt  they  used 
his  proliibition  as  a  pretext.  Months  passed,  and 
Dcnonville  remained  in  suspense.  He  did  not  trust 
his  hulian  allies,  nor  did  they  trust  him.  Like  the 
Rat  and  his  Ilurons,  they  dreaded  the  conclusion 
of  peace,  and  wislied  the  war  to  continue,  that  the 
French  might  bear  the  brunt  of  it,  and  stand  be- 
tween tliem  and  the  wrath  of  the  Iroquois.' 

In  tlio  direction  of  the  Iroquois,  there  was  a  long 
and  ominous  silence.  It  was  broken  at  last  by  the 
crasli  of  a  thunderbolt.  On  the  night  between 
the  fonrth  and  fifth  of  August,  a  violent  hail-stonn 
burst  over  Lake  St.  Louis,  an  expansion  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  a  little  above  Montreal.  Concealed  by 
the  tempest  and  the  darkness,  fifteen  hundred  war- 
riors landed  at  La  Chine,  and  silently  posted  them- 
selves about  the  houses  of  the  sleeping  settlers, 
then  screeched  the  w\ar-whoop,  and  began  the 
[most  frightful  massacre  in  Canadian  history.  The 
houses  were  burned,  and  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren indiscriminately  butchered.  In  the  neigh- 
borhood were  three  stockade  forts,  called  Remy, 
Roland,  and  La   Presentation ;   and  they  all  had 


<i 


^  Denonville  au  Ministre,  9  Nov.,  1688. 
12 


178 


THE   IIIOQIJOIS    INVASION. 


[\m. 


garriHoiis.  Thcro  wmh  also  nn  tMicninpmont  of  two 
hundrod  ro<j^ulars  Jihout  three*  rnilos  (llstniit,  under 
an  olliocM'  iiamed  Siihcrcnsr,  I  lion  ft})sont  nl  Mon- 
treal on  a  visit  to  Dononvillo,  who  had  latolv 
arrivcMl  with  his  wife  a!id  family.  At  four  o'clock 
in  tho  niorninfj^,  the  troops  in  this  oncainpinent 
hoard  a  cannon-shot  from  one  of  tho  forts.  They 
were  atonco  ordorod  nndor  arms.  Soon  after,  tliev 
saw  a  man  running;  towards  them,  jnst  escnped 
from  the  hutchory.  He  told  his  story,  and  passed 
on  witli  the  news  to  Montreal,  six  miles  dintant. 
Then  several  fugitives  a])peared,  chased  hy  a  l)aii(l 
of  Iroquois,  who  gave  over  the  pursuit  at  sight  of  the 
soldiers,  but  pillaged  several  houses  before  their 
eyes.  The  day  was  well  advanced  before  Siibor- 
case  arrived.  He  ordorod  the  troops  to  inarch. 
About  a  hundred  armed  inhabitants  had  joined 
them,  and  they  moved  together  towards  La  Ciiine. 
Here  they  found  the  houses  still  burning,  and  the  I 
bodies  of  their  inmates  strew^n  among  them  or 
hanging  from  the  stakes  where  they  had  beeDJ 
tortured.  They  learned  from  a  French  surgeon. 
escaped  from  the  enemy,  that  the  Iroquois  w^ere  alll 
encamped  a  mile  and  a  half  farther  on,  behind  a 
tract  of  forest.  Subercase,  whose  force  had  been 
strengthened  by  troops  from  the  forts,  resolved  to 
attack  them ;  and,  had  he  been  allowed  to  do  sol 
he  would  probably  have  punished  them  severely,  fori 
most  of  them  were  helplessly  drunk  with  brandyl 
taken  from  the  houses  of  the  traders.  Sword  in  handj 
at  the  head  of  his  men,  the  daring  officer  entered  thrt 
forest ;  but,  at  that  moment,  a  voice  from  the  rea 


m^] 


TKKKolt    AT    M(JN'n{i:AL. 


17'J 


coiniiiniidc*!  n  lijill.  It,  vns  (lint  of  llio  Cliovali(»r 
(jo  Viimli'tMiil,  just coiik;  from  Montreal,  with  positive 
unlors  froiri  J)('noiiviIl(*  to  run  no  risks  and  stand 
ptjlely  on  the  delonsive.  Suhcrcasc^  was  furious, 
lljch  words  passed  between  him  and  Vaudrouil, 
hut  he  was  forced  to  obey. 

Tlie  troops  were  led  back  to  Fort  Roland,  where 
about  five  hundred  regulars  and  militia  were  now 
(ollocted  under  command  of  V'audreuil.  On  the 
next  (lay,  eighty  men  from  Fort  Kemy  attenipted 
to  join  them;  but  the  Iroquois  had  slept  oil  the 
effect  of  their  orgies,  and  were  again  on  the  alert. 
The  iniiortunate  detachment  was  set  upon  by  a 
host  of  savages,  and  cut  to  pieces  in  full  sight  of 
JFort  Roland.  All  were  killed  or  captured,  except 
Le  Moyne  de  Longueuil,  and  a  few  others,  who 
escaped  within  the  gate  of  Fort  R(3my.' 

xMontrcjd  was  wild  with  terror.  It  had  been 
fortilied  with  palisades  since  the  wtir  began ;  but, 
though  there  were  troops  in  the  town  under  the 
governor  himself,  the  people  were  in  mortal  dread. 
(o  attack  was  made  either  on  the  town  or  on  any 

the  forts,  and  such  of  the  inhabitants  as  could 
^each  them  were  safe  ;  while  the  Iroquois  held 
jndisputed  possession  of  the  open  country,  burned 
11  the  houses  and  barns  over  an  extent  of  nine 
liles,  and  roamed  in  small  parties,  pillaging  and 

ilping,  over  more  than  twenty  miles.     There  ia 

^  Recueil  de  ce  qui  s'est  pass^  en  Cnnudn  depuis  Vann€e  1G82  ;  Observa- 
ns  on  the  State  of  Affairs  in   Canada,  1689,  N.  Y.  Col  Docs.,  IX.  431 ; 
^Imont,  Ilistoire  du  Canada  ;  Frontenac  nu  Ministre,  15  Nov.,  1689.     Thil 
Itachment  was  commanded   by  Lieutenant  de  la  Ilabeyre,  and  con 
Ited  of  fifty  French  and  thirty  Indian  converts. 


180 


Tin:  iKOQrois  invasion. 


[m.> 


no  mention  of  tluMi*  Ii;i\'in<i;  cMiconnln'cd  o|)|)o<iii()ii; 
nor  do  iIk'V  simmii  to  Ii;ivt'  mcl  with  nny  loss  hm 
that  of  some  wjiniors  killed  in  the  attack  on  tiu' 
dotnchinent  from  Fort  IJeiny,  and  that  of  thnc 
drnnken  stra^'i^lers  who  were  eani^ht  and  tlnoun 
into  a  cellar  in  Foit  Tia  Presentation.  When  iIk-v 
canu»  to  their  senses,  they  defieil  their  captors,  aiil 
fou^'ht  with  snch  ferocity  that  it  was  neei'ssiuy  to 
shoot    them.       Charlevoix  savs   that  the    invadi'is 

4 

remained  in  the  nei^hhorhood  of  Montreal  till 
the  middle  of  Octoher,  or  more  than  two  months; 
hnt  this  seems  incnMlihle,  since  ti'oops  and  militia 
enon<^h  to  (hive  them  all  into  the  St.  Lawrenot' 
might  easily  luive  heen  collected  in  less  than  a 
week.  It  is  certain,  however,  tluit  their  stay  was 
strangely  long.  Troops  and  inhabitants  seem  to| 
have  heen  paralyzed  with  fear. 

At"  length,  most  of  them  took  to  their  canoi'sJ 
and   recrossed   Lake   St.   Louis   in  a  body,  giving 
ninety  yells  to  show  that  they  had  ninety  prisoners 
in  their  clutches.     This  was  not  all ;  for  the  whole 
number  carried  off  was  more  than  a  hundred  and 
twent}^,  besides  about  two  hundred  wdio  had  the 
good  fortune  to  be  killed  on   the  spot.     As  the 
Iroquois  passed  the  forts,  they  shouted,  ^'  Onontiol 
you   deceived    us,    and    now    we    have    deceivedl 
you."     Towards  evening,  they  encamped  on  thej 
farther  side  of  the  lake,  and  began  to  torture  ad 
devour  their  prisoners.     On  that  n*iserable  nighij 
stupefied  and  speechless  groups  stood  gazing  fron 
the  strand  of  La  Chine  at  the  lights  that  gloaine 
along  the  distant  shore  of  Cluiteaugay,  where  theij 


m] 


FKUOCITY  OF  THE    VIC TOUS. 


181 


friends,  wlvoH,  pan^nts,  or  chiMi'cii  ii^^oniztMl  in  (ho 
liros  of  lli<-  Iro(jii()is,  and  scciu's  wim'o  cnactod  of 
inili'scriliaMi;  and  nMinclcss  horror.  Thi*  ^roator 
part  of  tl»<3  prisoiu'i's  wcro,  however,  renerved  to 
ho  (listrihiilcd  ainoni^  the  towns  of  the  confederacy, 
iind  there  (ortured  for  the  diversion  of  the  inhab- 
itants. Wliile  some  of  th(^  invaders  went  Iionio  to 
col('l)riit<'  their  triumph,  others  ro;iined  in  small 
piiitios  thi'onj^h  all  the  up()er  pai'ts  of  the  colony, 
(ipivadini.^  universal  tei-ror.' 

CaiKula  lay  bewildered  and  benum})ed  imder 
the  shock  of  this  calamity ;  but  the  cup  of  her 
Iniisirv  was    not    full.     There    was    revolution    in 


I  TliP  l>o»t  account  of  tlie  desticnt  of  tlio  Iroquois  at  I^a  ('liiuc  is  that  of 

\\\\i  Renti'il <{e  ce  qui  «Vsf  fntss^  en  Canada,  11)82-1712.     The  wiittT  waH  an 

loffiL-cr  iinilcr  Siihorcaso,  and  was  on  the  spot.     lU-linont,  superior  of  liie 

|liiijsii>n  of  Montreal,  hIho  {fives  a  trustworthy  account  in  hi.s  llinfmrp  du 

im.da.    Coiuparc  La  Ilontan,  I.  15>;{  (17():»),  nnd  La   I'otherie,  II.  229 

Farther  i);irticiilar3  are  f^iven  in  tlie  Ii'ttcrs  of  ('aljlercs,  8  Nov. ;  Cliam* 

Difny,  K)  Nov. ;  and  Frontenac,  15  Nov.     Frontenac,  after  visitintr  tlie 

tile  of  llie  catastroplio  a  few  weeks  after  it  occurred,  writes  :  "  lis 

\lis  /ro'///()/,<)    iivpient    hrusid  phis    de    trois    lieiies    de    l)!iys.   H.'iccagtf 

nntes  ies  maisons  jusqn'aux  I'ortes  de  lu  villc,  onlevc^  ])lus  de  six  vingt 

[•rsDiines,  tant  homnies,  feninie»,  qu'enfants,  aprcs  avoir  nuissacrd  plug 

'(It'ux  cents  dont  ils  avoient  casso  la  teste  aux  nns,  hrusl(5,  rosty,  et 

Danu'O  los  autres,  ouvort  le  ventre  des  fcmiues  grosses  pour  en  arracher 

lent'iiiits,  et  fait  des  cruautez  inouies  et  sans  exeniple."     The  details 

Ivon  by  Hehnont,  and  hy  the  author  of  //isfoirr  de  rEau  dp  Vie  m  Cn- 

|i(/(i,  arc  no  less  revoltiiifj.     The  la.st-uientioned  writer  thinks  that  the 

iiiiisncrp  was  a  ju<lj;ment  of  God  upon  the  sale  of  brandy  at  La  Chine. 

Some  Cnnadian  writers  have  charj,'ed  the   Euj^dish  with  instigating* 

massacre.     I  find  nothinf?  in  contemporary  documents  to  support  the 

cusation.   Denonville  wrote  to  the  minister,  after  the  Hat's  treachery 

netolij^ht,  that  Andros  had  forbidden  the  Iroquois  to  attack  the  colony. 

^inediately  after  thu  attack  at  La  Chine,  the  Iroquois  sachems,  in  a 

nfercnce  with  the  agents  of  New  England,  declared  th.at  "  we  did  not 

|ike  war  on  the  French  at  the  i)ersuasi()n  of  our  brethren  at  Albany  ; 

'we  (lid  not  so  much  as  acquaint  them  of  our  intention  till  fourteen 

^%  after  our  army  had  begun  their  march."    Rejiort  of  Conference  in 

iden,  103 


182 


THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION. 


[\m. 


England.  James  IT.,  the  friend  and  ally  of  France 
had  been  driven  from  his  kingdom,  and  William  of 
Orange  had  seized  his  vacant  throne.  Soon  there 
came  news  of  war  between  the  two  crowns.  The 
Iroquois  alone  had  brought  the  colony  to  the  brink 
of  ruin ;  and  now  they  would  be  supported  by 
the  neighboring  British  colonies,  rich,  strong,  anrl 
populous,  compared  to  impoverished  and  depleted 
Canada. 

A  letter  of  recall  for  Denonville  was  already  on  i 
its  way.*     His  successor  arrived  in  October,  and  the  I 
marquis  sailed  for  France.     He  was  a  good  soldier 
in  a  regular  war,  and  a  subordinate    command;! 
and  lie  had  some  of  the  qualities  of  a  good  gover- 
nor, while  lacking  others  quite  as  essential.    lh\ 
had  more  activity  than  vigor,  more  personal  bravervl 
than  firmness,   and   more  clearness  of  perception 
than  executive   power.     He  filled  his  despatched 
with  excellent  recommendations,  but  w^as  not  M 
man  to  carry  them  into  effect.     He  was  sensitive] 
fastidious,  critical,  and  conventional,  and  plinn^^d 
himseK  on  his  honor,  which  was  not  always  able 
bear  a  strain  ;  though  as  regards  illegal  trade,  tli^ 
besetting  sin  of  Canadian  governors,  his  hands  wer 
undoubtedly  clean .^     It   is   said  that   he   had  ai| 

1  Le  Roy  a  Denonville,  31  Mai,  1689. 

2  "I  shall  only  add  one  article,  on  which  possibly  vqu  willfindi 
strange  that  I  have  said  nothing  ;  namely,  whether  the  governor  carri 
on  any  trade.    I  shall  answer,  no ;  but  iny  Lady  the  Governess  (Mudam/i 
Gourernanfe),  who  is  disposed  not  to  neglect  any  opportunity  for  makioj 
a  profit,  had  a  room,  not  to  say  a  shop,  full  of  goods,  till  the  close  ofl 
winter,  in  the  chateau  of  Quebec,  and  found  means  afterwan'/j  to  iiiakej 
lottery  to  get  rid  of  the  rubbish  that  renuiined,  which  produced  lien 
than  her  good  merchandise."    Relation  of  the  State  of  Affairs  in  O/wil 
1688,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  388.     This  paper  was  written  at  Qutbttl 


instin 
sons 
de  bo 
populi 
Their 
and   I: 
king. 
votion 
a  seas 
auStios, 
amid  i 
theinse 
of  its  c 
us  that 
veiy  US' 
nors  CO 
begged 
and  Bis] 
stantly 
^vorst  a( 
neutral; 
besides 
tendant 
colony,  j 
lived  to 
[arrival 
[allies  g{ 


^overiio 
)f  Burof 

o 


1(589.] 


CHARACTER  OF  DENONVILLE. 


183 


instinctive  antipathy  for  Indians,  such  as  some  per- 
sons have  for  certain  animals  ;  and  the  coureurs 
(k  hois,  and  other  lawless  classes  of  the  Canadian 
population,    appeared    to    please    him   no   better. 
Their  license  and  insubordination  distressed  him, 
and  lie  constantly    complained   of    them    to    the 
king.    For  the  Church  and  its  hierarchy  his  de- 
votion was  unbounded  j  and  his  government  was 
a  season  of   unwonted  sunshine   for  the    ecclesi- 
astics, like  the  balmy  days  of  the  Indian  summer 
amid  the   gusts   of    November.     They  exhausted 
themselves  in  eulogies  of  his  piety ;  and,  in  proof 
of  its  depth  and  solidity.  Mother  Juchereau  tells 
us  that  he    did  not  regard  station  and    rank   as 
very  useful  aids  to  salvation.     While  other  gover- 
nors complained  of   too  many  priests,  Denonville 
begged  for  more.     All  was  harmony  between  him 
and  Bishop  Saint- Vallier;  and  the  prelate  was  con- 
stantly his  friend,  even  to  the  point  of  justifying  his 
worst  act,  the  treacherous  seizure  of  the  Iroquois 
neutrals.*     When  he  left  Canada,  the  only  mourner 
besides  the  churchmen  was  his  colleague,  the  in- 
itendant  Champigny;    fo.^  the    two   chiefs   of  the 
colony,  joined  in  a  common  union  with  the  Jesuits, 
[lived  together  in  unexampled  concord.      On  his 
arrival  at  court,  the  good   offices  of  his  clerical 
[allies  gained  for  him  the  highly  honorable  post  of 
governor  of  the  royal  children,  the  young  Dukes 
)f  Burgundy,  Anjou,  and  Berri. 


Saint- Vallier,  Elat  Present,  91,92  (Quebec.  1866). 


CHAPTER  X. 


1G89    1690. 


RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC. 


Versailles.  —  Fruntenac  and  the  King. — Fronte.vac  sails  poi 

QUEBKC.  —  PUOJECTED     CONQUICST     OF     NeW     YoRK.  —  DESIGN'S   OP 

TUB  Kino.  —  Failure. —r Energy  op  Fkontenac — Foht  Fhon. 
TENAC. —Panic.  —  Negotiations.  —  The    Iroquois   in  Council. 
—  Chevalier  d'Aux.  —  Taunts  op  the  Indian  Allies.  —  Bold- 
ness OF  Fkontenac.  —  An  Iroquois  Defeat.  —  Cruel  Policy. - 
Thb  Stroke  tarried. 

The  sun  of  Louis  XIV.  had  reached  its  zenith. 
From  a  morning  of  unexampled  brilliancy  it  had 
mounted  to  the  glare  of  a  cloudless  noon ;  but  the 
hour  of  its  decline  was  near.  The  mortal  enemv 
of  France  was  on  the  throne  of  England,  turning 
against  her  from  that  new  point  of  vantage  all  the 
energies  of  his  unconquerable  genius.  An  invalid 
built  the  Bourbon  monarchy,  and  another  invalid 
battered  and  defaced  the  imposing  structure :  t^vo 
potent  and  daring  spirits  in  two  frail  bodies,  Eiche- 
lieu  and  William  of  Orange. 

Versailles  gave  no  sign  of  waning  glories.  On 
three  evenings  of  the  week,  it  was  the  pleasure  of 
the  king  that  the  whole  court  should  assemble  in 
the  vast  suite  of  apartments  now  known  as  the 
Halls  of  Abund..nce,  of  Venus,  of  Diana,  of  Mars, 


'1 


VERSAILLES. 


185 


of  Mercury,  and  of  Apollo.     The  magnificence  of 
their  decorations,  pictures   of    the   great   Italian 
masters,   sculptures,  frescoes,  mosaics,  tapestries^ 
vases  and  statues  of  silver  and   gold  ;    the  vista 
of  light  and   splendor  that  opened    through  the 
wide  portals  ;   the  courtly  throngs,  feasting,  danc- 
ii]fr,  gaining,  promenading,  conversing,  formed  a 
scene  wliich  no  palace  of  Europe  could  rival  or 
approach.     Here  were  all  the  great  historic  name& 
of  France,  princes,  warriors,  statesmen,   and   all 
tkt  was  highest  in  rank  and  place ;  the  flower,  in 
tliort,  of  that  brilliant  society,  so  dazzling,  capti- 
vating, and  illusory.     In  former  years,  the  king 
Tas  usually  present,  affable  and  gracious,  mingling 
iwitli  his  courtiers  and  sharing  their  amusements; 
lit  he  had  grown  graver  of  late,  and  was  more 
ften  in  his  cabinet,  laboring  with  his  ministers  on 
lie  task  of  administration,  which  his  extravagance 
lid  ambition  made  every  day  more  burdensome.^ 
There  was  one  corner  of  the  world  where  his 
inbleni,  the  sun,  would  not  shine  on  him.     He 
ad  done  his  best  for  Canada,  and  had  got  nothing 
[or  his  pains  but  news  of  mishaps  and  troubles.     He 
as  growing  tired  of  the  colony  which  he  had  nursed 
rltli  paternal  fondness,  and  he  was  more  than  half 
•iigry  with  it  because  it  did  not  prosper.     Denon- 
llo's  letters  had  grown  worse  and  worse ;  and, 

'  S[iint-Sinion  speaks  of  tliese  aspcniblios.  The  halls  in  question 
Jere  fiiiisiit'd  in  168*2;  and  a  minute  account  of  them,  and  of  the  par- 
ciilar  use  to  whicli  each  was  destined,  was  printed  in  the  Mercure  Fran- 
lis  uf  that  year.  See  also  Soulic,  Notice  du  Miis^e  imp€nul  de  Versailles, 
iiere  copious  extracts  from  the  Mrrcitre  are  given.  The  (jnindsnppivie- 
pits  aw  tiow  entirely  clianged  in  appearance,  and  turned  into  an  historic 
ttuie  gallery. 


^ 


186 


RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC. 


(1689 


though  he  had  not  heard  as  yet  of  the  last  great 
calamity,  he  was  sated  with  ill  tidings  already. 

Count  Frontenac  stood  before   him.     Since  his 
recall,  he  had  lived  at  court,  needy  and  no  loncrerj 
in  favor;  but  he  had   influential  friends,  und  an] 
intriguing  wife,  always  ready  to  serve  him.    TIk 
king  knew  his  merits  as  well  as  his  faults ;  and,  in 
the  desperate  state  of  his  Canadian  affairs,  he  bad 
been  led  to  the  resolution  of  restoring  him  to  tliej 
connnand  from   which,  for  excellent  reason.s,  Ije] 
had  removed   liim  seven  years  before.     lie  nowl 
told  him  that,  in   his  belief,  the  charges  bioufditl 
against  him  were  without  foundation.^     "  I  sen(] 
you  back  to  Canada,"  he  is  reported  to  have  saidj 
"  where  I  am  sure  that  you  wdll  serve  me  as  well 
as   you  did  before ;    and  I  ask  nothing  more  o( 
you."  ^     The   post  was  not  a   tempting  one  to 
man  in  his  seventieth    year.     Alone  and  unsupj 
ported,  —  for  the  king,  with  Europe  rising  againsj 
him,  would  give  him  no  more  troops,  —  he  was  t(i 
restore  the  prostrate  colony  to  hope  and  courage! 
and  fight  two  enemies  with  a  force  that  had  prove( 
no  match  for  one  of  them  alone.     The  audacioi 
count  trusted  himself,  and  undertook  the  task ;  « 
ceived  the  royal   instructions,  and  took   his  lasl 
leave  of  the  master  whom  even  he  after  a  fashiol 
honored  and  admired. 

He  repaired  to  Rochelle,  where  tw^o  ships  of  tlij 
royal  navy  were  waiting  his  arrival,  embarked 

1  Journal  cle  Lhtiu/enu,  II.  390.    Frontenac,  since  liis  recall,  liaJ  nj 
been  wholly  without  marks  of  royal  favor.     In  1685,  the  king  gavel 
fl  "  Knitiflcallon  "  of  8,500  francs.     Hid.,  I.  205. 

-  Uoyer,  Oraison  Funebre  da  Comte  de  Ftontcnac. 


1680.] 


CONQUEST  OF  NEW   YORK. 


187 


one  of  them,  and  flailed  for  the  New  World.  An 
heroic  remedy  liad  been  prepared  for  the  sickness 
of  Canada,  and  Frontenac  was  to  be  the  surgeon. 
]'lie  cure,  however,  was  not  of  his  contriving. 
Oenonville  had  sent  Callieres,  his  second  in  com- 
mand, to  represent  the  state  of  the  colony  to  the 
(ourt,  and  beg  for  help.  Callieres  saw  that  tliere 
u;is  little  hope  of  more  troops  or  any  considerable 
jsiipply  of  money ;  and  he  laid  before  the  king  a 
plan,  which  had  at  least  the  reconunendations  of 
boldness  and  cheapness.  This  was  to  conquer 
Xew  York  with  the  forces  already-  in  Canada,  aided 
only  by  two  ships  of  war.  The  blow,  he  argued, 
sliould  be  struck  at  once,  and  the  English  tidven  by 
surprise.  A  thousand  regulars  and  six  hundred 
Canadian  militia  should  pass  Lake  Champlain  and 
Like  George  in  canoes  and  bateaux,  cross  to  the 
Hudson  and  capture  Albany,  where  they  w^oiild  seize 
all  the  river  craft  and  descend  the  Hudson  to  the 
town  of  New  York,  which,  as  Callieres  stated,  had 
then  about  two  hundred  houses  and  four  hundred 
tigliting  men.  The  tw^o  ships  were  to  cruise  at 
the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  and  w^ait  the  arrival  of 
the  troops,  which  was  to  be  niade  known  to  them 
by  concerted  signals,  whereupon  they  were  to 
liter  and  aid  in  the  attack.  The  whole  expedition, 
lie  thought,  might  be  accomplished  in  a  month ; 
0  that  by  the  end  of  October  the  king  w^ould  be 
laster  of  all  the  country.  The  advantages  were 
lanifold.  The  Iroquois,  .  deprived  of  English 
rms  and  ammunition,  would  be  at  the  mercy  of 
he  French ;  the  question  of  English  rivalry  in  the 


>    I 


)  1 


188 


UETUKN  OF  FUONTENAC. 


1 1 


west  would  be  settled  for  ever;  the  king  would  ac- 
quire a  means  of  access  to  his  colony  incomparably 
better  than  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  one  that  re- 
mained open  all  the  year ;  and,  finally.  New  En^f- 
land  would  be  isolated,  and  prepared  for  a  possible 
conquest  in  the  future. 

The  king  accepted  the  plan  with  modilicatioiis. 
which  complicated  and  did  not  improve  it.  Ex- 
treme precautions  were  taken  to  insure  secrecy  ;  but 
the  vast  distances,  the  difficult  navigation,  and  the 
accidents  of  weather  appear  to  have  been  forgotten 
in  this  amended  scheme  of  operation.  There  wa.^, 
moreover,  a  long  delay  in  fitting  the  two  ships  for 
sea.  The  wind  was  ahead,  and  tliuy  were  fiftj-tAvo 
days  in  reaching  Chedabucto,  at  the  eastern  end  of 
Nova  Scotia.  Tlience  Frontenac  and  Callieres  had 
orders  to  proceed  in  a  merchant  ship  to  Quebec. 
which  might  require  a  month  more  ;  and,  on  arriv- 
ing, they  were  to  j)repare  for  the  expedition, 
while  at  the  same  time  Frontenac  w^as  to  send 
back  a  letter  to  the  naval  commander  at  Cheda- 
bucto, revealing  the  plan  to  him,  and  ordering 
him  to  sail  to  New  York  to  co-operate  in  it.  It 
was  the  twelfth  of  September  when  Chedabucto 
was  reached,  and  the  enterprise  w  as  ruined  by  the 
delay.  Frontenac's  first  step  in  his  new  govern- 
ment was  a  failure,  though  one  for  which  he  wii; 
in  no  way  answ^erable.' 

1  Projet  da  Chevalier  de   Callieres  de  fanner  une  Expedition  pour  alh 
attaquer  Orange,  Mauatte,  etc.;  Bc'sitm^  dn  Minisfre  siir  la   Proposition  ii\ 
M.  de  Callieres;  Autre  Mcnioire  de  M.  de  Callieres  sur  son  Projet  d'attafitfl 
la  Nourelle  York;  Mcnioire  dis  Arnifx,  Munitions,  et   Ustensiles  'n&essa'mi\ 
pour  CEntreprise  proposie  pur  M.  de  Callieres;  Observations  du  Ministrei 


11 


aild  ac- 
parably 
hat  re- 
\v  Eng- 
poHsible 


H 


[cations, 
it.    Ex- 
icy ;  but 
and  the 
orgotten 
lere  ^vas, 
ships  for 
fifty^AYO 
'11  end  Oi 
ieres  hud 
Quebec, 
on  arriv- 
pedition, 
to  send 
t  Checla- 
ordering 
nit.    It 
edabiicto 
d  bv  tlie 
crovern- 
;h  he  ^vas 


ion  pour  ailf 
Proposition  dt  I 
njet  d'altnqutf  I 
les  ii^i'fssaint 
u  Ministre  sw  I 


f  ! 


INDEX. 


.  IH^ 


403 


322,  32fi ;   excess  of  zeal,  328 ;  re- 
turns to  France,  332. 

Salmon  Falls,  nttark  on,  220,  227. 

Schenectadv,  destruction  of,  211-216; 
its  elTcctni  Canada,  233;  on  the  In- 
dians, 2r)2.  T»    •  • 

Schuvlcr,  .I(din,  attacks  La  Prairie, 
257:  carries  tiie  treaty  of  Uyswickto 
Quolx'c,  I-2J:  refer,  mayor  of  Al- 
bany, li>«;  l«"'l«  ""  attack  ;  his 
sii.ccs-fiil  retreat,  28t)-2!»3;  in  the 
Mohawk  expedition,  312-3U;  con- 
vokes an  Indian  council,  -'JDIK 

Seifrnelav,  son  of  Colbert,  colonial 
minisu'-r,  01,  101;  advices  to  Dcnon- 
ville,  170. 

Seiiecas,  the  most  powerful  of  the  Iro- 
quois, 74,  7(»;  prepare  for  hostilities, 
97;  pass  for  cowards,  100;  their 
fortifications,  lU;  attack  the  Illinois, 
117;  intri};ue  with  the  Hurons,  118; 
Denonville  plans  to  attack  them, 
122,  i;{0;  his  campaign,  149-157; 
they  threaten  Fort  N  iagara,  IGO. 

Subercase,  a  French  ollicer,  i>ropose9 
to  attack  the  Iroquois,  but  is  over- 
ruled, 178  ;  ill  the  Onondaga  expedi- 
tion, 412. 


T. 

Talon,  the  intendant,  15 ;  declines  to 
attend  meeting  of  the  estates,  20; 
returns  to  France,  21 ;  hostile  to 
Frontenac  at  the  court,  40. 

Theatricals  at  Quebec,  324-326.  333. 

Thury,  tiie  priest,  225,  361 ;  persuades 
Taxous,  363,  368;  instigates  hos- 
tilities, 376. 

Tonty  at  Fort  St.  Louis,  144;  at  Fort 
Niagara,  147;  in  the  tight  with  the 
Senccas,  150. 

Toronto,  128. 

Torture  practised  by  Indians,  181,  300, 
413  ;  instigated  by  the  French,  305, 
404,  405. 

Troves,  Chevalier  de,  132;  at  Fort 
l^iagara.  155. 


.jf^"^' 


I 


'U. 


Uranline  Convent  at  Quebec,  24 ;  dm^. 
ing  the  attack,  280. 

V. 

Vaillant,   the  Jesuit,  negotiates  with 

Dongan,  162. 
Valrenne    destroys     Fort     Frontenac, 

192  ;  sftnt  to  defend  La  Prairie,  291,' 

•2iU. 
Vaudreuil,  Chevalier  de.  in  the  Soncca 

campaign,     151;     in     the    d. fence 

against' the  Iroquois,  169, 17!t:  in  the 

attack  .of  the  Unondagas,  410,  413, 

414 
VeixduVes,  the  heroine  of,  302-303. 
Versailles,  1,  184. 

Viele,  his  mission  to  Onondaga,  93,98. 
Villebon,    governor  of    Acadia,  ;U7, 

378. 
Villeray,  a  tool  of  the  Jo  uits,  47:  at 

Quebec,  247:  his  negotiations  with 

F'rontenac,  249. 
Villieu,  commands  the  Indian  allies, 

361;    attacks    Oyster    Kiver,    'iOo; 

nearly   perishes   in  the    rciiobscot, 

364;  returns  to  (iucbcc,  368;  takes 

Peinaquid,  381;  is  captured,  385. 


w. 

Waldron  at  Cocheco,  224. 

Walley,    John,  in    command   under 

Phips   at  Quebec,   246;  comnianda 

the  land  attack,  271 ;  in  camp,  274- 

276;  retreat,  277. 
Weems  at  Peinaquid,  224,  225. 
Wells,  attacked  by  F'rench  and  Abe- 

nakis,  353-355. 
William  III.,  184. 
Winthrop,  commander  at  Albany,  257 


Y. 

York,  massacre  at,  349-351 


« 


University  Press,  Cambridge:  John  WUson  and  Son. 


DESIGNS  OF  THE  KING. 


189 


tiales  with 


It  will  be  well  to  observe  what  were  the  inten- 
tion.s  of  the  king  towards  the  colony  which  he  pro- 
posed to  conquer.  They  were  as  follows  :  If  any 
Ciitholics  were  found  in  New  York,  they  might  be 
]eft  inidistnrbed,  provided  that  they  took  an  oath 
of  alk^gijince  to  the  king.  Oilicers,  and  other  per- 
sons wlio  had  the  means  of  paying  ransoms,  were 
to  be  thrown  into  prison.  All  lands  in  the  colony, 
except  those  of  Catholics  sw-ear' ig  allegiance,  were 
to  be  taken  from  their  owners,  and  granted  under 
a  feudal  tenure  to  the  French  oflicers  and  soldiers. 
All  property,  public  or  private,  was  to  be  seized,  a 
portion  of  it  given  to  the  grantees  of  the  land,  and 
the  rest  sold  on  account  of  the  king.  Mechanics 
and  other  workmen  might,  at  the  discretion  of  the 
commanding  officer,  be  kept  as  prisoners  to  work 
at  fortifications  and  do  other  labor.  The  rest  of 
the  English  and  Dutch  inhabitants,  men,  women, 
and  children,  were  to  be  carried  out  of  the  colony 
and  dispersed  in  New  England,  Pennsylvania,  or 
other  places,  in  such  a  manner  that  they  could  not 
combine  in  any  attempt  to  recover  their  property 
and  their  country.  And,  that  the  conquest  might 
be  perfectly  secure,  the  nearest  settlements  of  New 
England  were  to  be  destroyed,  and  those  more  re- 
mote laid  under  contribution.' 


\k  Projet  ft  le  M€ino(re  ci-dessus ;  Observations  dti  Ministre  sur  le  Projet 
\d'Atta(]ue(le  la  Nonvclle  York;  Autre  Me'moire  de  il/.  de  Callieres  au  Snjet 
\d(  I'Eiitrcprise  propos€c ;  Autre  M€moira  de  M.  de  Callieres  stir  le  meme 
I  Siijet. 

'  M^moire  pour  servir  d' Instruct  ion  a  Monsieur  le  Comte  de   Frontenac 

liif  I'Kiitreprise  de  la  Nouvelle  York,  7  Jidn,  1680.   "  Si  parmy  les  liabitnns 

delaNouvelle  York  il  se  trouve  des  Catlioliqucs  do  la  fidclite  desquels  il 

jcroye  se  pouvoir  asscurer,  il  pourra   les  laisser  dans  leurs  habitations 

wrh  leur  avoir  fait  prester  serment  de  fidelity  k  sa  Majesty.  ...  II 


190 


RETUTIN  OF  FRONTENAC. 


In  the  next  century,  some  of  the  people  of  Acadi,^ 
were  torn  from  then*  homes  by  order  of  a  British  i 
commander.     The  act  was  harsh  and  violent,  and 
the  innocent  were  involved  with  the  guilty;  but 
many  of  the  sufferers  had  provoked  their  fate,  nndl 
deserved  it. 

Louis  XIV.  commanded  that  eighteen  thoiisanfll 
unoffending  persons  should  be  stripped  of  all  that 
they  possessed,  and  cast  out  to  the  mercy  of  the 
wilderness.  The  atrocity  of  the  plan  is  niatcliod 
by  its  folly.  The  king  gave  explicit  orders,  but  he 
gave  neither  ships  nor  men  enough  to  acconipljsh 
them;  and  the  Dutch  farmers,  goaded  to  despora- 
tion,  would  have  cut  his  sixteen  hundred  soldiei-s 
to  pieces.  It  was  the  scheme  of  a  man  blinded  hy 
a  long  course  of  success.  Though  perverted  byj 
flattery  and  hardened  by  unbridled  power,  he  wis 
not  cruel  by  nature;  and  here,  as  in  the  burning  of 
the  Palatinate  and  the  persecution  of  the  IIiigiie-| 
nots,  he  would  have  stood  aghast,  if  his  dull  imagi- 
nation coidd  have  pictured  to  him  the  miseries  he| 
was  preparing  to  inflict.^ 

pourra  aussi  garder,  s'il  le  juf?e  h,  propos,  des  artisans  et  autres  gens  del 
service  nc'cessaiics  pour  la  culture  des  terres  ou  pour  travailler  aiixforii-l 
fications  en  qii.ilitd  de  prisonniers.  ...  II  faut  retenir  en  prison  lejl 
offieiers  et  les  principaux  habitans  dosquols  on  pourra  retiror  des  ran-j 
^oiis.  A  I'fcjgard  de  tons  les  autrcs-estrangers  {crux  qui  iie  soiit  pas  Fm\ 
ffl/s)  hommes,  femmes,  et  enfans,  sa  Majes'to  troiive  h,  propos  qu'ils  soientj 
mis  hers  de  la  Colonie  et  envoyez  a  la  Nouvclle  Angleterre,  a  la  Pennsjl-j 
vanie,  ou  en  d'autres  endroits  qu'il  jugera  a  propos,  par  tner  ou  parterre,! 
ensemble  ou  se'parcment,  le  tout  suivant  qu'il  trouvera  plus  senr  pourlei| 
dissiper  et  empescher  qu'en  se  reunissant  ils  ne  puissent  donner  occafiMJ 
a  des  entreprises  de  la  part  des  ennemis  contre  cette  Colonie.  II  envoy- 
era  en  France  les  Franrais  fugitifs  qu'il  y  pourra  trouver,  et  particuliwl 
ment  ceux  de  la  Religion  Pretendue-Heform^e  { Huguenots)."  A  transUf 
tion  of  the  entire  document  will  be  found  in  iV.  Y.  Col.  Docs  ,  IX,  4i'l 
^  On  the  details  oi  tiie  projected  attack  of  New  York,  Le  Hoijil 


HIS  ARRIVAL. 


191 


With  little  hope  left  that  the  grand   enterprise 
liiraiiist  New  York  could  sucooed,  Frontcnac  nrde 
Lail  for  (^icbcc,  and,  stopping  by  the   way  at  Isle 
Perct'C,  learned  from  Recollet  missionaries  the  irrup- 
tion of  tlie  Iroquois  at  Monti'oal.     He  hastened  on  ; 
but  the  wind  was  still  against  him,  and  the  autumn 
woods  were  turning  brown  before  he  reached  his 
(lestiiiiition.    It  was  evening  when  he  landed,  amid 
liroworks,  illuminations,  and  the  firing  of  cannon. 
All  Quebec  came  to  meet  him  by  torchlight ;  the 
motnbcrs  of  the  council  offered  their  respects,  and 
the  Jesuits  made  him  an  harangue  of  welcome.'    It 
hvas  but  a  welcome  of  words.    They  and  the  council- 
lors liad  done  their  best  to  have  him  recalled,  and 
Ihoped  thjit  they  were  rid  of  him  for  ever  ;  but  now 
[lie  w.'is  among  them  again,  rasped  by  the  memory 
[of  real  or  fancied  wrongs.     The  count,  however, 
[had  no  time  for  quarrelling.     The  king  had  told 
}iin  to  bury  old  animosities  and  forget  the  past. 
and  for  the  present  he  was  too  busy  to  break  the 
royal  injunction.^     He  caused  boats  to  be  made 
[ready,  and  in   spite  of  incessant  rains  pushed  up 
Ithe  river  to  Montreal.     Here  he  found  Denonville 
111^1  his  frightened  w4fe.     Every  thing  was  in  con- 
Iiision.    The  Iroquois  were  gone,  leaving  dejection 
ind  terror  behind  them.     Frontenac  reviewed  the 
troops.     There  were  seven  or  eight  hundred   of 
them  in  the  town,  the  rest  being  in  garrison  at  the 

hcnvilk,  7  Jtiin,  1689  ;  Le  Minislre  a  Denonville,  meme  dote ;  Le  Min- 
irea  Frontenac,  meme  date  ;  Ordre  du  Roij  a  Vaudieuil,  meme  date;  Le  Rwf 
t'iSieur  dela  Caffiniere,  nieine  date;  C/iampu/ny  an  Ministre,  16  Nov.,  168ft 

'  La  Hontan,  I.  199. 

*  Instruction  pour  le  Sieur  Comte  de  Frontenac,  7  Juin,  1689. 


ill! 


1U2 


RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC. 


fw 


various  forts.  Then  he  repaired  to  what  was  uinel 
La  Cliinc,  and  surveyed  the  niiserahle  wa.ste 
aslies  and  desolation  that  spread  for  miles  aroundj 
To  his  extreme  disgust,  he  learned  that  Dciionj 
ville  had  sent  a  Canadian  ollicer  by  secret  patiisto 
Fort  Frontenac,  with  orders  to  Valrenne,  the  cuh)^ 
mandant,  to  blow  it  up,  and  return  with  his  garrisoi] 
to  Montreal.  Frontenac  had  built  the  fort,  \\\\\ 
given  it  his  own  name,  and  had  cherished  it  with 
paternal  fondness,  reinforced  by  strong  hopes  oj 
making  money  out  of  it.  For  its  sake  he  iiiul  he 
come  the  butt  of  scandal  and  opprobrium  ;  but  no| 
the  less  had  he  always  stood  its  strenuous  and 
passionate  champion.  An  Iroquois  envoy  had  latelj 
with  great  insolence  demanded  its  destruction  oj 
Denonville ;  and  this  alone,  in  the  eyes  of  Frunle 
nac,  was  ample  reason  for  maintaining  it  at  anj 
cost.'  He  still  had  hope  that  it  might  be  saved 
and  w^ith  all  the  energy  of  youth  he  proceeded  tJ 
collect  canoes,  men,  provisions,  and  arms ;  battleij 
against  dejection,  insubordination,  and  fear,  a 
in  a  few  days  despatched  a  convoy  of  three  liiiii| 
dred  men  to  relieve  the  place,  and  stop  the  execu 
tion  of  Denonville's  orders.  His  orders  had  beei 
but  too  promptly  obeyed.  The  convoy  was  scarcelj 
gone  an  hour,  when,  to  Frontenac's  unutterablj 
wrath,  Valrenne  appeared  with  his  garrison,  fij 
reported  that  he  had  set  fire  to  every  thing  in  tlij 
fort  that  would  burn,  sunk  the  three  vessels  belong 
ing  to  it,  thrown  the  cannon  into  the  lake,  mine 
the  walls  and  bastions,  and  left  matches  burnii] 

1  Frontenac  au  Minlstre,  16  Nov.,  1689. 


lUOQUOIS   DKFKAT. 


193 


intlio  powder  inn  fanzine ;  and,  furthor,  that  when 
lie  1111(1  his  men  were  (ive  leMgiies  on  their  waj  to 
Montreal  a  dull  and  distant  ex[)l()si()n  told  th'.Mn  that 
the  mines  had  spriin«^.  It  proved  afterwards  that 
the  (lest  ruction  was  not  complete  ;  and  the  Iroquois 
took  possession  of  the  al)an(loned  fort,  with  a  large 
quantity  of  stores  and  munitions  left  by  the  gar- 
rison in  their  too  hasty  I'otreat.' 

There  was  one  ray  of  light  through  the  clouds. 
The  iiinvonted  news  of  a  victory  came  to  Montreal. 
IJtwas  small,  hut  decisive,  and  might  he  an  earnest 
of  greater  things  to  come.  Before  Frontenac's 
arriviil,  Denonville  had  sent  a  reconnoitring  party 
jup  the  Ottawa.  They  had  gone  no  fartlier  than  the 
[Lake  of  Two  Mountains,  when  they  met  twenty- 
two  Iroquois  in  two  large  canoes,  who  innnediately 
jbore  down  upon  them,  yelling  furiously.  The 
M'ench  party  consisted  of  twenty-eight  coitreurs 
k  hoh   under   Du  Lhut   and    Mantet,  excellent 

iiirtisan  chiefs,  who  manoeuvred  so  well  that  the 
rising  sun  blazed  full  in  the  eyes  of  the  advancing 
eiieniy,  and  spoiled  their  aim.  The  French  re- 
ceived their  fire,  which  wounded  one  man ;  then, 
flosing  with  them  while  their  guns  ^vere  empty, 
rave  them  a  volley,  which  killed  and  wounded 
[ighteen  of  their  number.    One  swam  ashore.    The 

'inaining  three  were  captured,  and  given  to  the 

uliaii  allies  to  be  burned.^ 

^  Fnmtinnc  au  Mini'stre,  15  Nov.,  1G89 ;  Recueil  de  ce  qui  s'est  passt  fn 
auudd  (lipids  Vonnde  1G82. 

Froiitenac  an  Minhtre,  15  Nov.,  1689  ;  Champigny  an  Ministre,  16  Nov,, 
B'J.  ('onipare  Belmont,  whose  account  is  a  little  different ;  also  N.  Y 
I  V<K's.,  IX.  435. 

18 


194 


RETURN  OF  FKONTENAC. 


*t 


This  gleam  of  sunaliine  passed,  and  all  grew  black 
again.  On  a  snowy  November  day,  a  troop  of 
Iroquois  fell  on  the  settlement  of  La  CliesTiaye, 
burned  the  houses,  and  vanished  with  a  troop  of 
prisoners,  leaving  twenty  nuuigled  corpses  on  the 
snow.'  "  The  terror,"  wrote  the  bishop,  "  is  in- 
describable."  The  appearance  of  a  few  savages 
would  put  a  whole  neighborhood  to  fliglit.^  So 
desperate,  wrote  Frontenac,  were  the  needs  of 
the  colony,  and  so  great  the  contempt  with  wliicli 
the  Iroquois  regarded  it,  that  it  almost  needed  a 
miracle  either  to  carry  on  w^ar  or  make  peace. 
What  he  most  earnestly  wished  was  to  keep  tlie 
Iroquois  quiet,  and  so  leave  his  hands  free  to  deal 
with  the  English.  This  w^as  not  easy,  to  such  a 
pitch  of  audacity  had  late  events  raised  them, 
Neither  his  temper  nor  his  convictions  would  allow 
him  to  beg  peace  of  them,  like  his  predecessor; 
but  he  had  inordiuate  trust  in  the  influence  of  his 
name,  and  he  now  took  a  course  which  he  hoped 
might  answer  his  purpose  without  increasing  their 
insolence.  The  perfidious  folly  of  Denonville  in 
seizing  their  countrymen  at  Fort  Frontenac  had 
been  a  prime  cause  of  their  hostility ;  and,  at  the 
request  of  the  late  governor,  the  surviving  captives,! 
thirteen  in  all,  had  been  taken  from  the  gallejs,| 
gorgeously  clad  in  French  attire,  and  sent  I 
to  Canada  in  the  ship  which  carried  Frontenac! 
Among  them  was  a  famous  Cayuga  war-chief  calle(i| 

1  Belmont,  Histoire  du  Canada ;  Frontenac  a  ,  17  Nov.,  1(5* 

Champigny  an  Ministre,  16  Nov.,  1689.  This  letter  is  not  the  one  j 
C'ted.    Champigny  wrote  twice  on  the  same  day. 

a  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  435. 


HIS   EFFORTS    FOR  PEACE. 


195 


Ourchnoue,  whose  loss  luul  infiirlnted  the  Iroquois.' 
Frontcna(3  gained  his  good-will  on  the  voyage  ;  and, 
when  (hey  reaehed  Qnebee,  he  lodged  hirn  in  the 
chriteaii,  and  treated  him  with  such  kindness  that 
the  chief  became  his  devoted  admirer  and  friend. 
As  his  influence  was  great  among  his  people,  Fron- 
tonao  hoped  that  he  might  use  him  with  success  to 
bring  about  an  accommodation.  lie  placed  three 
of  the  captives  at  the  disposal  of  the  Cayuga,  who 
forthwith  sent  them  to  Onondaga  with  a  message 
which  the  governor  had  dictated,  and  which  was 
to  the  following  effect :  "  The  great  Onontio,  whom 
vou  all  know,  has  come  back  again.  lie  does  not 
blame  you  for  what  you  have  done ;  for  he  looks 
upon  you  as  foolish  chihlren,  and  blames  only  the 
English,  who  are  the  cause  of  your  folly,  and  have 
made  you  forget  your  obedience  to  a  father  who 
has  always  loved  and  never  deceived  you.  lie 
will  permit  me,  Ourehaoue,  to  return  to  you  as 
soon  as  you  will  come  to  ask  for  me,  not  as  you 
have  spoken  of  late,  but  like  children  speaking  to 
a  father."^  Frontenac  hoped  that  they  would 
eend  an  embassy  to  reclaim  their  chief,  and  thu» 
give  him  an  opportunity  to  use  his  personal  influ- 
nee  over  them.  With  the  three  released  captives, 
e  sent  an  Iroquois  convert  named  Cut  Nose  with 
wampum  belt  to  announce  his  return. 
When  the  deputation  arrived  at  Onondaga 
d    made     known    their    errand,    the    Iroquois 

'  OuHiaou^  was  not  one  of  the  neutrals  entrapped  at  Fort  Frontenac, 
lut  was  seized  about  tlie  same  time  by  the  troops  on  their  way  up  the 
^t,  Lawrence. 

*  Ftonimac  au  Mini. ire,  80  Atril,  1690. 


196 


HETUHN   OF  FRONT KN AC. 


[1080  ■  m] 


i:  > 


magnates,  with  their  usual  deliberation,  deferred 
answering  till  a  general  council  of  the  confeder- 
acy should  have  time  to  assemble ;  and,  mean- 
while, they  sent  messengers  to  ask  the  mayor 
of  Albany,  and  others  of  their  Dutch  and  Engli.sl) 
friends,  to  come  to  the  meeting.  They  did  not 
comply,  merely  sending  the  government  inter- 
preter,  with  a  few  Mohawk  Indians,  to  represent 
their  interests.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Jesuit 
Milet,  who  had  been  captured  a  few  months  before. 
adopted,  and  made  an  Oneida  chief,  used  everv 
effort  to  second  the  designs  of  Frontenac.  The 
authorities  of  Albany  tried  in  vain  to  induce  the 
Iroquois  to  place  him  in  their  hands.  They  under- 
stood their  interests  too  well,  and  held  fast  to  the 
Jesuit.' 

The  grand  council  took  place  at  Onondaga  on 
the  twenty-second  of  January.  Eighty  chiefs  and 
sachems,  seated  gravely  on  mats  around  the  coun- 
cil fire,  smoked  their  pipes  in  silence  for  a  while; 
till  at  length  an  Onondaga  orator  rose,  and  an- 
nounced that  Frontenac,  the  old  Onontio,  had 
returned  with  Ourehaoue  and  twelve  more  of  tlieiri 
captive  friends,  that  he  meant  to  rekindle  tbej 
council  fire  at  Fort  Frontenac,  and  that  he  invited 
them  to  meet  him  there  .^ 


r ! 


^  Milet  was  taken  in  1G80,  not,  as  lias  been  supposed,  in  Kl'.iO.    Z,t.'/nj 
du  Pere  Milet,  1601,  printed  by  Slica. 

2  Frontenac  declares  that  lie  sent  no  such  message,  and  intimata 
that  Cut  Nose  had  been  tampered  with  by  persons  over-anxious  tocon-j 
ciliate  the  Iroquois,  and  who  had  even  gone  so  far  as  to  send  tlica 
messages  on  their  own  account.  Those  persons  were  Lnmberville,j 
Francois  Hertel,  and  one  of  the  Le  Moynes.  Frontenac  was  very  ang 
at  this  interference,  to  which  he  ascribes  the  most  mischievous  cod« 


m] 


THE  IROQUOIS  IN  COUNCIL. 


197 


i'  Ilo;  hjj  ho,"  returned  the  eighty  senators,  from 
the  bottom  of  their  throats.  It  was  the  unfailing 
]i()(|Uois  response  to  a  speech.  Then  Cut  Nose. 
the  governor's  messenger,  addressed  the  council : 
"I  advise  you  to  meet  Onontio  as  he  desires. 
Do  so,  if  you  wish  to  live."  He  presented  a  wam- 
piiin  belt  to  confirm  his  words,  and  the  conclave 
a^ain  returned  the  same  guttural  ejaculation. 

''Ourehaoue  sends  you  this,"  continued  Cut  Nose, 
presenting  another  belt  of  wampum  :  "  b}^  it  he  ad- 
vises you  to  listen  to  Onontio,  if  you  wish  to  live." 

When  the  messenger  from  Canada  had  ceased, 
the  messenger  from  Albany,  a  Mohawk  Indian,  rose 
land  repeated  word  for  word  a  speech  confided  to 
him  by  the  mayor  of  that  town,  urging  the  Iro- 
iquois  to  close  their  ears  against  the  invitations  of 
[Onontio. 

Next  rose  one  Cannehoot,  a  sachem  of  the  Sene- 

Icas,  charged  with  matters  of   grave    import ;    for 

[they  involved  no  less   than  the   revival   of    that 

Echeme,  so  perilous  to  the  French,  of  the  union  of 

the  tribes  of  the  Great  Lakes  in  a  triple  alliance 

dth  the  Iroquois  and  the  English.     These  lake 

tribes,  disgusted   with    the    French,    who,   under 

)enonvillc,  had  left  them  to  the  mercy  of  the  Iro- 

juois,  had  been  impelled,  both  by  their  fears  and 

lieir  interests,  to  make  new  advances  to  the  con- 

[ederacy,  and  had   first  addressed   themselves  to 

le  Senecas,  whom  they  had  most  cause  to  dread. 
Chey  had  given  up  some  of  the  Iroquois  prisoners 


!  f 


Rences.    Cut  Nose,  or  Ncz  Coupe,  is  called  Adaralita  by  Colden,  and 
agniepaton,  or  Red  Bird,  by  some  French  writers. 


198 


RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC. 


[lOOO 


in  their  hands,  and  promised  soon  to  give  up  the 
rest.  A  treaty  had  been  made ;  and  it  was  this 
event  which  the  Seneca  sachem  now  announced  to 
the  council.  Having  told  the  story  to  his  assem- 
bled colleagues,  he  exhibited  and  explained  tlio 
wampum  belts  and  other  tokens  brought  Ijy  the 
envoys  from  the  lakes,  who  represented  nine  dis- 
tinct tribes  or  bands  from  the  region  of  Micliilli- 
mackinac.  By  these  tokens,  the  nine  tribes 
declared  that  they  came  to  learn  wisdom  of  the 
Iroquois  and  the  English;  to  wash  off  the  war- 
paint, throw  down  the  tomahawk,  smoke  the  pipe 
of  peace,  and  unite  with  them  as  one  body.  "  On. 
ontio  is  drunk,"  such  was  the  interpretation  ofj 
the  fourth  wampum  belt ;  "  but  we,  the  tribes  of 
Michillimackinac,  wash  our  hands  of  all  his  actions. I 
Neither  we  nor  you  must  defile  ourselves  bv 
listening  to  him."  When  the  Seneca  sachem  hadl 
ended,  and  when  the  ejaculations  that  echoed  hisl 
words  had  ceased,  the  belts  were  hung  up  before] 
all  the  assembly,  then  taken  down  again,  and  di 
tributed  among  the  sachems  of  the  five  Iroqiioi'!, 
tribes,  excepting  one,  which  was  given  to  the  ine? 
sengers  from  Albany.  Thus  was  concluded  ti;^ 
triple  alliance,  which  to  Canada  meant  no  less  thu 
ruin. 

"  Brethren,"  said   an   Onondaga  sachem,  "  w 
must  hold  fast  to  our  brother  Quider  {Peter  Sch^\ 
lev,  mayor  of  Albany),  and  look  on  Onoiitio 
our  enemv,  for  he  is  a  cheat." 

Then  they  invited  the  interpreter  from  Albanjj 
to  address  the  council,  which  he  did,  advising  then 


m: 


THE   IROQUOIS  IN   COUNCIL. 


199 


not  to  listen  to  the  envoys  from  Canada.  When  he 
had  ended,  they  spent  some  time  in  consultation 
among  themselves,  and  at  length,  agreed  on  the 
following  message,  addressed  to  Corlaer,  or  New 
York,  and  to  Kinshon,  the  Fish,  by  which  the}' 
meant  New  England,  the  authorities  of  which  had 
.sent  them  the  image  of  a  fish  as  a  token  of 
alliance : '  — 

"Brethren,  our  council  fire  burns  at  Albany. 
We  will  not  go  to  meet  Onontio  at  Fort  Frontenac. 
We  will  hold  fast  to  the  old  chain  of  peace  with 
Corker,  and  we  will  fight  with  Onontio.  Brethren, 
we  are  glad  to  hear  from  you  that  you  are  pre- 
paring to  make  war  on  Canada,    but   tell   us  no 


••  Brother  Kinshon,  we  hear  that  you  mean  to 
i^eiid  soldiers  against  the  Indians  to  the  eastward  ; 
b;it  we  advise  you,  now  that  we  are  all  united 
against  the  French,  to  fall  upon  them  at  once. 
Strike  at  the  root :  when  the  trunk  is  cut  down, 
all  the  branches  fall  with  it. 

'•  Courage,  Corlaer !  courage,   Kinshon  !     Go  to 
iQiiebcc  in  the  spring ;  take  it,  and  you  will   have 
voiir  feet  on  the  necks  of  the  French  and  all  their 
;:('n;!s. 

Then  they  consulted  together  again,  and  agreed 
Ion  the  following  answer  to  Ourehaoue  and  Froj  i- 
[tepac :  — 

''  Ourehaoue,  the  whole  council  is  glad  to  hear 
[that  you  have  come  back. 


^  The  wooden  image  of  a  codfisli  still  hangs  in  the  State  House  at 
8o8ton,  the  emblem  of  a  colony  which  lived  chiefly  by  the  fisheries. 


200 


RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC. 


i( 


Onontio,  you  have  told  us  th<at  you  have  come 
back  again,  and  brought  with  you  thirteen  of  our 
people  who  were  carried  prisoners  to  France.  AVe 
are  glad  of  it.  You  wish  to  speak  with  us  at  Cuta- 
raqui  {Fort  Frontenac).  Don't  you  know  Lat 
your  council  fire  there  is  put  out  ?  It  is  quenched 
in  blood.  You  must  first  send  home  the  piison- 
ers.  When  our  brotlier  Ourehaoue  is  returned  to 
us,  then  we  will  talk  with  you  of  peace.  You  must 
send  him  and  the  others  home  this  very  winter, 
We  now  let  you  know  that  we  have  made  peace 
with  the  tribes  of  Michillimackinac.  You  are  not 
to  think,  because  we  return  you  an  answer,  that 
we  have  laid  down  the  tomahawk.  Our  warriors 
will  continue  the  war  till  you  send  our  country- 
men back  to  us."  * 

The  messengers  from  Canada  returned  with  this 
reply.  Unsatisfactory  as  it  was,  such  a  quantity 
of  wampum  was  sent  with  it  as  showed  plainly  the 
importance  attached  by  the  Iroquois  to  the  mat- 
ters in  question.  Encouraged  by  a  recent  success 
against  the  English,  and  still  possessed  with  an  over- 
weening confidence  in  his  own  influence  over  tlie 
confederates,  Frontenac  resolved  that  Ourehaoue 
should  send  them  another  message.  The  chief. 
wdiose  devotion  to  the  count  never  wavered,  ac- 

^  The  account  of  this  council  is  given,  with  condensation  and  tha 
omission  of  parts  not  essential,  from  Coldoii  (105-112,  ed.  17-47).  Itwil| 
serve  as  an  example  of  the  Iroquois  metliod  of  conducting  political  bib 
ness,  the  habitual  regularity  and  decorum  of  which  has  drawn  from 
several  contemporary  French  writers  the  remark  that  in  such  matten 
the  five  tribes  were  savages  only  in  name.  The  reply  to  Frontenac i 
also  given  by  Monseignat  [N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  465),  and,  after  liini, b]j 
La  Potherie.  Compare  Le  Clercq,  ]^tablisscment  de  la  Foij,  II. 
Ourehaou^  is  the  Tawerahet  of  Golden. 


CHEVALIER  D'AUX. 


201 


cordingly  despatched  four  envoys,  with  a  load  of 
wampuin  belts,  expressing  his  astonishment  that 
his  countrymen  had  not  .^-een  fit  to  send  a  deputa- 
tion of  chiefs  to  receive  him  from  the  hands  of  On- 
ontio,  nnd  calling  upon  them  to  do  so  without  delay, 
lest  he  should  think  that  they  had  forgotten  him. 
Along  with  the  messengers,  Frontenac  ventured  to 
send  the  Chevalier  d'Aux,  a  half-pay  officer,  with 
orders!  to  observe  the  disposition  of  the  Iroquois, 
and  impress  them  in  private  talk  with  a  sense  of 
the  count's  power,  of  his  good-will  to  them,  and 
of  the  wisdom  of  coming  to  terms  with  him,  lest, 
hke  an  angry  father,  he  should  be  forced  at  last 
to  use  the  rod.  The  chevalier's  reception  was  a 
warm  one.  They  burned  two  of  his  attendants, 
forced  him  to  run  the  gauntlet,  and,  after  a  vigorous 
thrashing,  sent  him  prisoner  to  Albany.  The  last 
fiiihue  was  worse  than  the  first.  The  count's  name 
was  great  among  the  Iroquois,  but  he  had  trusted 
its  power  too  far.^ 

The  worst  of  news  had  come  from  Michillimack- 
inac.  La  Durantaye,  the  commander  of  the  post, 
I  Carheil,  the  Jesuit,  had  sent  a  messenger  to 
Montreal  in  the  depth  of  winter  to  say  that  the 
ribes  around  them  were  on  the  point  of  revolt. 
arheil  wTote  that  they  threatened  openly  to  throw 
hemselves  into  the  arms  of  the  Iroquois  and  the 
nglish ;  that  they  declared  that  the  protection  of 
nontio  w^as  an  illusion  and   a  snare  ;  that  they 

'  ilcssafje  of  Ourehaon€,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Dors.,  III.  735;  Instructions  to 
'Ckvniler  d'Ean,  Ibid.,  733 ;  Chevalier  d'Aiix  an  Minisfre,  15  Mai,  1G93. 
the  clievalier's  name  is  also  written  d'O.     He  himself  wrote  it  as  in  the 

m. 


\  I 


202 


RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC. 


:% 


once  mistook  the  French  for  warriors,  but  saw  now 
that  they  were  no  match  for  the  Iroquois,  whom 
they  had  tamely  allowed  to  butcher  them  at  Mon-I 
treal,  without  even  daring  to  defend  themselves- 
that  when  the  French  invaded   the  Scueciis  thevl 
did  nothing  but  cut  down  corn  and  break  canoes, 
and  since  that  time  they  had  done  nothing  but  be 'I 
peace  for  themselves,  forgetful  of  their  allies,  whom 
they  expected  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  war,  and! 
then  left   to    their   fate;    that   tliey  had   surren. 
dered  through  cowardice   the  prisoners  tliey  lnull 
caught  by  treachery,  and  this,  too,  at  a  time  wlieQl 
the  Iroquois  were  burning  French  captives  in  alll 
their   towns ;    and,    finally,  that,   as   the   Freiichl 
would  not  or  could  not  make  peace  for  them,  tliej 
would  mo.ke  peace  for  themselves.     "  These,"  pur« 
sued  Carheil,  "  are  the  reasons  they  give  ns  to 
prove  the  necessity  of  their  late  embassy  to  the 
Senecas ;  and  bv  this  one  can  see  that  our  Indiad 
are  a  great  deal  more  clear-sighted  than  they  a« 
thought  to  be,  and  that  it  is  hard  to  conceal  fro^ 
iheir  penetration  any  thing  that  can  help  or  liarii 
their  interests.     What  is  certain  is  that,  if  the  In 
quois  are  not  stopped,  they  will  not  fail  to  come  anij 
make  themselves  masters  here."  ^ 

Charlevoix  thinks  that  Frontenac  was  not  dk 
pleased  at  this  bitter  arraignment  of  his  prede 
cesser's  administration.  At  the  same  time,  111 
position  was  very  embarrassing.     He  had  no  inej 


1   Carheil  a  Frontcnnc,  1690.     Frontenac  did  not  receive  tliis  letter! 
September,  and  acted  on  the  information  previously  sent  him.    Charlj 
Toix's  version  of  the  letter  does  not  conform  with  the  original. 


HIS  BOLDNESS. 


203 


to  Sparc ;  but  such  was  the  necessity  of  saving 
JlicliilHni^'ickinac,  and  ])reaking  off  the  treaty  with 
tiie  Souecas,  that  when  spring  opened  he  sent 
fjiptain  Louvigny  with  a  hundred  and  forty-three 
Cana^liii'^"'  and  six  Indians  to  reinforce  the  post 
and  replace  its  commander,  La  Durantaye.  Two 
otlicr  ollicers  with  an  additional  force  wqvq  ordered 
[to  accompany  him  through  the  most  dangerous 
jpiirt  of  the  journey.  AVith  them  went  Nicohis 
IPerrot,  bearing  a  message  from  the  count  to  his 
[rebellious  children  of  Michillimackinac.  The  fol- 
lowing was  the  pith  of  this  characteristic  docu- 
■nieiit:  — 

•I  am  astonished  to  learn  that  you  have  for- 
hrotteii  the  protection  that  I  always  gave  you.  Do 
[vol!  think  that  I  am  no  longer  alive  ;  or  that  I 
li;  v(j  a  mind  to  stand  idle,  like  those  who  have  been 
Lire  in  my  place  ?  Or  do  you  think  that,  if  eight 
lor  ten  hairs  have  been  torn  from  my  children's 
Iliads  when  I  was  absent,  I  cannot  put  ten  hand- 
fiils  of  hair  in  the  place  of  every  one  that  was 
pulled  out?  You  know  that  before  I  protected 
Ivou  the  ravenous  Iroquois  dog  w^as  biting  every- 
Dily.  I  tamed  him  and  tied  him  up;  but,  when 
mi'  no  longer  saw  me,  he  behaved  worse  than  ever. 
1:  he  persists,  he  shall  feel  my  power.  The  Eng- 
|idi  have  tried  to  win  him  by  flatteries,  but  I  Avill 
\ill  all  who  encourage  him.  •  The  English  have 
(ocelved  and  devoured  their  children,  but  I  am  a 
pod  father  who  loves  you.  I  loved  the  Iroquois 
511C0,  l)ecause  they  obeyed  me.  When  I  knew  that 
!iey  had  been  treacherously  captured  and  carried 


201 


nr/rijUN  ok  fuontknac. 


] 


to  Fninro,  I  Hot  tliein  frcM»  ;  mikI,  wIkmi  T  restore 
them  to  their  country,  it  will  not  bo  throuj^h  fear. 
but  <hn)ii,!^li  pity,  for  I  hate  treachery.  I  an, 
Htroug  iMiou«i;h  to  kill  th(^  Kuti,lish,  destroy  the  ho. 
quois.  and  whij)  you,  if  you  fail  in  your  duty  to  me, 
The  Inxjuois  havo  killed  aud  ea[)tur(Ml  you  in  ijn,,. 
of  peace.  Do  to  them  as  they  have  doui;  to  von. 
do  to  the  English  as  they  would  like  to  do  to  yon, 
but  hold  fast  to  your  true  father,  who  will  lu^vir 
abandon  you.  Will  you  let  the  Ku^Tish  hrniidv 
that  has  killed  you  in  your  wigwams  lure  you  into 
the  kettles  of  the  Iroc^uois?  is  not  miu(;  jjettcrj 
which  has  never  killed  you,  but  always  made  you 
strong  ? "  ' 

Charged  with   this   haughty  missive,   Perrot  m\ 
out  for  Michillimackinac  alonu;  with  Louviu;!!'/  ami 
hip  men.     On  their  way  up  the  Ottawa,  they  iiK't| 
a  large  band  of  Iroquois  hunters,  whom  they  routod 
with  heavy  loss.     Nothing  could   have  been  iiiore| 
auspicious  for  Perrot's  errand.    When  towards  inid. 
summer  they  reached  their  destination,  they  ranged] 
their  canoes  in  a   triumphal  procession,  j)laco(l  in 
the  foremost   an   Iroc^uois  ca})tured  in  the  tight,] 
forced  him  to  dance  and  sing,  hung  out  tlm  Jkur-^ 
dc-lls,  shouted  Vive  le  Boi,  whooped,  yelled,  ami 
fired  their  guns.    As  they  neared  the  village  of  tliej 
Ottawas,  all  the  naked  population  ran  down  to  tliel 
shore,  leaping,  yelping,  aud  tiring,  in  return.    Loii-I 
vigny  and  his  men  passed  on,  and  landed  at  tliel 


1  Parole  (dc  M.  Je  Frontennc)  qui  doit  ctre  ditc  a  rOutmrnais  ponrki^l 
Buadcr  di'.  l' Alliance  qn'il  rent,  /aire  aire  V Iroquois  ct  I'Aiiylois.  The  mMj 
sage  is  long.     Only  the  principal  points  are  given  above. 


'1 


TIIK    KHKNTII   AT   MI<  IIILMM ACKINAC. 


L'05 


niMtrliboiini^  vIllM,u;e  of  \\w.  French  soltlors,  who, 
drawn  ii|)  in  hjilllo  arrny  on  (Ik;  shore,  a,tl(l(M!  more 
veils inul  (ir'm^  (o  lh(;  ^enerjil  n[)ro;ir;  thoii;i;h,  luiiid 
(liis  joyous  fusillade  of  harmless  gunpowder,  they 
„1I  kept  Iheir  hullets  ready  for  instant  use,  for  they 
,|istnist(Ml  the  sava<^(;  multitude.  The  story  of  the 
late  victory,  however,  confirmed  as  it  was  by  an 
iiii|H)sin<!;  display  of  scalps,  ])r()duced  an  ef'fecjt  whicii 
lavcrti'd  the  dan<i;(;r  of  an  inunediate  outbi'eak. 

The  fate  of  the  Inxjuois   prisoner  now  became 
I  the  point  at  issue.     The  French  lio|)ed  that  the 
IndiMiis  in   their  excitement  could   be   induccid   to 
put  Iiiiii  to  death,  and  thus  break  their  late  treaty 
hvitli  his  countrymen.      Besides  the  Ottawas,  there 
was  at  Michillimackinac  a  viUa<i;e  of  Hurons  under 
their  crafty  chief,  the  Kat.     They  had  pretended 
(to  stand  fast  for  the  French,  who  nevertheless  be- 
lieved them  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  all  the  mischief. 
iThey  now  begfi;ed  for  the  prisoner,  promising  to 
|buni  him.     On  the  faith  of  this   pledge,  he   was 
riven  to  them ;  but  they  broke  their  word,  and 
jept  him  alive,  in  order  to  curry  favor  with  the 
Iroquois.     The   Ottawas,   intensely  jealous  of  the 
^reference  shown  to  the  Ilurons,  declar-ed  hi  their 
mger  that  the   prisoner  ought  to   be  killed  and 
wten.     This  was   precisely  what  the  interests  of 
^he  French  demanded  ;  but  the  Ilurons  still  per- 
sisted in  protecting  him.     Their  Jesuit  missionary 
now  interposed,  and  told  tliem  that,  unless  they 
put  the  Iroquois  into  the   kettle,"   the  French 
fould  take  him  from  them.    After  much  discussion, 
lis  argument  prevailed.     They  planted  a  stake, 


20G 


lil/rUUN   01'  rilONTKNAC. 


tied  him  to  it,  and  began  to  torture  hiin;  hut,  aj 
ho  did  not  show  the  usual  fortitude  of  his  counliy, 
men,  tlicy  declared  him  unworthy  to  die  the  deatl 
of  a  warrior,  and  a(!Cordingly  shot  him.' 

Here  was  a  point  gained  for  the  French,  but  thj 
danger  was  not  passed.     The  Ottawas  could  disJ 
avow   the   killing  of   the   Iroquois ;    and,  in  luA 
though    there   was   a    great   division   of    opinioal 
among  them,  they  were  preparing  at  this  very  tliiiel 
to  send  a  secret  embassy  to  the  Seneca  count iv  to) 
ratify  the  fatal  treaty.     Tlie  French  conminuderi 
called  a  council  of  all  the  tribes.     It  met  at  tliel 
house  of  the  Jesuits.     Presents  in  abundance  \voie| 
distributed.     The  message  of  Frontenac  was  rein. 
forced  by  persuasion  and  threats ;  and  the  asscmb'j 
was  told  that  the  five  tribes  of  the  Iroquois  v.erel 
like  five  nests  of  musk  rats  in  a  marsh,  which  tliel 
•French  woidd  drain  dry,  and   then  burn  with  allj 
its  inhabitants.     Perrot  took  the  disaffected  cliiof^ 
aside,  and  with  his  usual  boht  .^.droitness  diverted! 
them  for  the  moment  from  their  purpose.    The 
projected  embassy  was  stopped,  but  any  day  mvM 
revive  it.     There  was  no  safety  for  the  French] 

•  "Le  Pbre  Missionnaire  des  Hurons,  prdvoyant  que  ccttc  affain 
auroit  peut-etre  une  suite  qui  pourrait  etre  prejudiciable  aux  soins  qui 
prenoit  de  leur  instruction,  denianda  qu'il  lui  fut  permia  d'allorileiJ 
village  pour  les  obligor  de  trouver  quelque  moyen  qui  fut  capable  d'apj 
paiser  le  ressentiment  des  Francois.  II  Icur  dit  que  ceux-ci  voiiloienj 
absolument  que  Ton  mit  V Iroquois  a  la  chaudiere,  et  quo  si  on  ne  i 
faisoit,  on  devoit  venir  le  leur  enlever."  La  Potherie,  II.  ''I'M  (l"'22)j 
By  the  "  result  prejudicial  to  his  cares  for  their  instruction  "  he  seomstd 
mean  their  possible  transfer  from  French  to  English  influences.  ThJ 
expression  mettre  a  la  chaudiere,  though  derived  from  cannibal  practicesj 
is  often  used  figuratively  for  torturing  and  Icilling.  The  missionary  i 
question  was  either  Carheil  or  another  Jesuit,  who  must  have  acted  wit^ 
his  sanction. 


THE   STROKE  PARIUED. 


207 


Ll  the  ground  of  Michilliinackinac  was  hollow 
luiider  their  feet.  Every  thing  depended  on  the 
Iguccess  of  their  arms.  A  few  victories  w^ould  con- 
Ifirin  their  wavering  allies;  hut  the  hreath  of  an- 
ler  defeat  would  blow  the  fickle  crew  over  to 
the  eiieniy  like  a  drift  of  dry  loaves. 


!^ 


M 


CHAPTER   XI. 

1690. 
THE    THREE   WAR-PARTIES. 

Mbasukes  of  Frontenac.  —  Expedition  against  Schenectady. -I 
The  March.  —  The  Dutch  Village.  —  The  Surprisk.  — Thh 
Massacre.  —  Prisoners  spared.  —  Retreat.  —  Tiik  Exgm.sii  and] 
their  Iroquois  Friends.  —  The  Abenaki  War.  —  Revolution- at 
Boston.  —  Capture  of  Pemaquid.  —  Capture  of  Salmon  F,vLa| 
—  Capture  op  Fort  Loyal. — Frontenac  and  his  Pulsoneu. 
The  Canadians  encouraged. 

While  striving  to  reclaim  his  allies,  Frontenao 
had  not  forgotten  his  enemies.  It  was  of  the  lasi 
necessity  to  revive  the  dashed  spirits  of  the  Cana] 
dians  and  the  troops ;  and  action,  prompt  and  boldj 
was  the  only  means  of  doing  so.  He  resolvedj 
therefore,  to  take  the  offensive,  not  against  tlifl 
Iroquois,  who  seemed  invulnerable  as  ghosts,  buj 
against  the  English;  and  by  striking  a  few  sliarg 
and  rapid  blows  to  teach  both  friends  and  foes  i 
Onontio  was  still  alive.  The  effect  of  his  returij 
had  already  begun  to  appear,  and  the  energy  and 
fire  of  the  undaunted  veteran  had  shot  new  Im 
into  the  dejected  population.  He  formed  threj 
war-parties  of  picked  men,  one  at  Montreal 
one  at  Three  Eivers,  and  one  at  Quebec;  tlij 
first   to    strike    at   Albany,   the    second    at  thj 


\m] 


THE  BUSH-RANGERS. 


209 


border  settlements  of   New  Hampshire,  and   the 

tliird  at  those  of  Maine.    That  of  Montreal  was 

T-eficIv  first.     It  consisted  of  two  hundred  and  ten 

men,  of  whom  ninety-six  Avere   Indian  converts, 

cliieOy  from  the   two  mission  villages  of  Saut  St. 

Louis  and  the  Mountain  of  Montreal.     They  were 

Christian  Iroquois  whom  the  priests  had  persuaded 

to  leave  their  homes  and  settle  in  Canada,  to  the 

crrcat  indignation  of   their  heathen  countrymen, 

and  tlie  great  annoyance  of  the  English  colonists, 

to  whom  they  were  a  constant  menace.     When 

jDenonville  attacked  the  Senecas,  they  had  joined 

I  him;  but  of  late   they  had   shown  reluctance  to 

fioflit  their  heathen  kinsmen,  with  whom  the  French 

even  suspected  them  of   collusion.      Against  the 

English,   however,    they   willingly   took    up    the 

ktchet.      The    French    of    the    party   were    for 

Itlie  most  part  coiireiirs  de  hois.     As  the  sea  is 

|tlie  sailor's  element,  so  the  forest  w\as  theirs.    Their 

lerits  vvere  hardihood  and  skill  in  woodcraft ;  their 

chief  faults  were  insubordination  and  lawlessness. 

fhcy  had  shared  the  general  demoralization  that 

[ollowed  the  inroad  of   the  Iroquois,  and   under 

)enonville  had  proved  mutinous  and  unmanage- 

ible.    In  the  best  times,  it  was  a  hard  task  to  com- 

aand  them,   and   one   that   needed,  not   bravery 

Jone,  bat  tact,  address,  and  experience.     Under  a 

lief  of  such  a  stamp,  they  were  admirable  bush- 

riiters,  and  such  were  those  now  chosen  to  lead 

lem.    D'Aillebout  de  Mantet  and  Le  Moyne  de 

jainte-IIelene,  the  brave  son  of  Charles  Le  Moyne, 

k1  the  chief  command,  supported  by  the  brothers 

u 


1^ 


21C 


THE  THREE  WAR-PARTIKS. 


i<  ■ 


iifii^ 


Le  Moyne  d'Iberville  and  Le  Moyne  de  Bienville 
with  Repentigny  de  Montesson,  Le  Ber  du  ChesneJ 
and  others  of  the  sturdy  Canadian  noblessey  nervefjl 
by  adventure  and  trained  in  Indian  warfare.^ 

It  was  the  depth  of  winter  when  they  beffanl 
their  march,  striding  on  snow-shoes  over  the  vast 
white  field  of  the  frozen  St.  Lawrence,  each  witlil 
the  hood  of  his  blanket  coat  drawn  over  his  head,; 
a  gun  in  his  mittened  hand,  a  knife,  a  hatchet, 
tc^ncco  pouch,  and  a  bullet  pouch  at  his  belt, 
pack  on  his  shoulders,  and  his  inseparable  '^'pcj 
hung  at  his  neck  in  a  leather  case.     They  dragged 
their  blankets  and  provisions  over  the  snow  on 
Indian  sledges.     Crossing  the  forest  to  Chambhj 
they  advanced    four   or  live  days  up  the  frozen 
Richelieu  and  the  frozen  Lake  Champlain,  and  tlieii 
stopped  to  hold  a  council.     Frontenac  had  left  tliJ 
precise  point  of  attack  at  the   discretion  of  tlji 
leaders,  and  thus  far  the  men  had  been  ignorant  ( 
their  destination.     The  Indians  demanded  to  knoi 
it.     Mantet  and  Sainte-Helene  replied  that  tliej 
were    going   to  Albany.     The  Indians  demurred 
"How  long  is  it,"  asked  one  of  them,  " since tlij 
French  grew  so  bold  ?  "      The   commanders 
swered  that,  to  regain  the  honor  of  which  tlieij 
late   misfortunes   had   robbed   them,  the   Frenc 
would  take  Albany  or  die  in  the  atteirpt.    Ttl 

1  Relation  de  Monseignat,  1689-90.     There  is  a  translation  of 
valuable  paper  in  N.  Y,  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  462.     The  party,  according^ 
three  of  their  number,  consisted  at  first  of  160  French  and  110  Christi 
Indians,  but  was  reduced  by  sickness  and  desertion  to  250  in  all. 
amination  of  three  French  prisoneis  taken  by  y«.   Maquas  (Mohawks), 
brmfjht  to  Skirnectady,  who  were  examined  by  Peter  Schuyler,  Mayor  ofi 
bany,  Domine    Godevridus  Ddlius,  and  some  of  y*.    Gentler   that  went 
Albany  a  purpose. 


[m  ■  16110.] 


THE  MARCH. 


211 


Indict ns  listened  sullenly  ;    the  decision  was  post- 
poned, and  the  party  moved  forward  again.  When 
after  eight  days  they  reached  the   Hudson,  and 
found  the  place  where  two  paths  diverged,  the  one 
for  Albany  and  the  other  for  Schenectady,  they  all 
williout  farther  words  took  the  latter.    Indeed,  to 
attempt  Albany  would  have  been  an  act  of  despera- 
tion.   The  march  was  horrible.     There  was  a  par- 
thaw,  and  they  waded  knee-deep  through  the 
[half  melted  snow,  and  the  mingled  .ce,  mud,  and 
water  of  the  gloomy  swamps.     So  painful  and  so 
slow  was  their  progress,  that  it  was  nine  days  more 
before  they    reached    a   point   two  leagues  from 
[Schenectady.      The  weather   had    changed  again, 
[and  a  cold,  gusty  snow-storm  pelted  them.     It  was 
3ne  of  those  days  when  the  trees  stand  white  as 
Bpectres  in  the  sheltered  hollows  of  the  forest,  and 
[bare  and  gray  on  the  wind-swept  ridges.      The 
len  were    half    dead   with    cold,    fatigue,    and 
lunger.   It  was  four  in  the  afternoon  of  the  eighth 
)f  February.    The  scouts  found  an  Indian  hut,  and 
|in  it  were  four  Iroquois  squaws,  whom  they  cap- 
tured.    There  was  a  fire  in  the  wigwam ;  and  the 
shivering  Canadians   crowded    about  it,  stamping 
their  chilled  feet   and  warming  their   benumbed 
lands  over  the  blaze.     The  Christian  chief  of  the 
5aut  St.  Louis,  known  as  Le  Grand  Agni^,  or  the 
rreat  Mohawk,  by  the  French,  and  hy  the  Dutch 
illed  Kryn,  harangued  his  followers,  and  exhorted 
lem  to  wash  out  their  wrongs  in  blood.     Then 
ley  all  advanced  again,  and  about  dark  reached 
le  river  Mohawk,  a  little  above  the  village.     A 


■'.  I 


^ 


\: 


01 ') 


THE   TIIIIEK   WAR-PAUTIES. 


n^^io  ■  m] 


Canadian  named  Gignieres,  who  had  gone  with 
nine  Indians  to  reconnoitre,  now  returned  to  suv 
that  he  had  been  within  sight  of  Schenectady,  and 
had  seen  nobody.  Their  purpose  had  been  to 
postpone  the  attack  till  two  o'clock  in  the  morn. 
ing ;  but  the  situation  was  intolerable,  and  the 
limit  of  human  endurance  was  reached.  Tliev 
could  not  make  fires,  and  they  must  move  on  or 
perish.  Guided  by  the  frightened  squaws,  tliev 
crossed  the  Mohawk,  on  the  ice,  toiling  through 
the  drifts  amid  the  whirling  snow  that  swept  down 
the  valley  of  the  darkened  stream,  till  about  eleven 
o'clock  they  descried  through  the  storm  the  snow- 
beplastered  palisades  of  the  devoted  village.  Such 
was  their  plight  that  some  of  them  afterwards 
declared  that  they  would  all  have  surrendered  if 
an  enemy  had  appeared  to  summon  them.^ 

Schenectady  was  the  farthest  outpost  of  the  col- 
ony of  New  York.  Westward  lay  the  Mohawk 
forests  ;  and  Orange,  or  Albany,  was  fifteen  miles  or 
more  towards  the  south-east.  The  village  was  obloM 

O  0 

in  form,  and  enclosed  by  a  palisade  which  had  two 
gates,  one  towards  Albany  and  the  other  towards 
the  Mohawks.  There  was  a  blockhouse  near  the 
eastern  gate,  occupied  by  eight  or  nine  Coniiecticiil 
militia  men  under  Lieutenant  Talmauce.  There  were 
also  about  thirty  friendly  Mohawks  in  the  place,  on 
a  visit.  The  inhabitants,  who  were  all  Dutch,  were 
in  a  state  of  discord  and  confusion.  The  revolu- 
tion in  England  had  produced  a  revolution  in  New 
York.     The  demagogue  Jacob  Leisler  had  got  pos- 

1  Golden,  114  (ed.  1747). 


(1600  ■  1690.] 


SCHENECTADY. 


213 


^e.<slon  of  Fort  William,  and  was  cndertvoring  to 
master  the  whole  colony.  Albany  was  in  the  hands 
q{  the  anti-Leisler  or  conservative  party,  repre- 
(iented  by  a  convention  of  which  Peter  Schuyler 
was  the  chief.  The  Dutch  of  Schenectady  for  the 
most  part  favored  Leisler,  w^hose  emissaries  had 
been  busily  at  work  among  them ;  but  their  chief 
uiai^nstrate,  John  Sander  Glen,  a  man  of  courage 
ami  worth,  stood  fast  for  the  Albany  convention, 
and  in  consequence  the  villagers  had  threatened  to 
I  kill  liini.  Tahnage  and  his  Connecticut  militia  were 
under  orders  from  Albany ;  and  therefore,  like 
Glen,  they  were  under  the  popular  ban.  In  vain 
the  magistrate  and  the  officer  entreated  the  people 
to  stand  on  their  guard.  They  turned  the  advice 
[to  ridicule,  laughed  at  the  idea  of  danger,  left  both 
their  gates  wide  open,  and  placed  there,  it  is  said, 
two  snow  images  as  mock  sentinels.  A  French 
[account  declares  that  the  village  contained  eighty 
(liouses,  which  is  certainly  an  exaggeration.  There 
bad  been  some  festivity  during  the  evening,  but  it 
vas  now  over  ;  and  the  primitive  villagers,  fathers, 
mothers,  children,  and  infants,  lay  buried  in  un- 
conscious sleep.  They  were  simple  peasants  and 
Me  woodsmen,  but  with  human  affections  and 
J!a])able  of  human  woe. 
The  French  and  Indians  stood  before  the  open 
jate,  with  its  blind  and  dumb  warder,  the  mock 
(eiitinel  of  snow.  Iberville  went  with  a  detach- 
lent  to  find  the  Albany  gate,  and  bar  it  against 
[he  escape  of  fugitives ;  but  he  missed  it  in  the 
tlooni,  and  hastened   back.     The  assailants  were 


214 


THK   THHEK    VVAH-l'AKTIKS. 


[1600.  ■iffO.] 


now  formefl  into  two  bands,  Sjiinlu-II^^ir.'ne  leadini/ 
the  one  and  Mantet  the  oilier.  Tfiey  passed 
through  tlie  gate  together  in  (lead  silenct; :  onJ 
turned  to  the  right  and  the  other  to  tlie  lefl,  uikI 
they  filed  around  the  village  between  the  palisadoJ 
and  the  houses  till  the  two  leaders  met  al  tljel 
farther  end.  Thus  the  place  was  complelely  siirJ 
rounded.  The  signal  was  then  given :  they  iiHJ 
screeched  the  war-whoop  together,  burst  in  the 
doors  with  hatchets,  and  fell  to  their  woikj 
Roused  by  the  infernal  din,  the  villagers  leaped 
from  their  beds.  For  some  it  was  but  a  moniontarji 
nightmare  of  fright  and  horror,  ended  by  the  hlo^i 
of  the  tomjdiawk.  Others  were  less  forluriiitei 
Neither  women  noi*  children  were  spared.  ".\^ 
pen  can  write,  and  no  tongue  express,"  wroti 
Schuyler,  "  the  cruelties  that  were  committed."] 
There  was  little  resist anc(;,  except  at  the  blocli 
house,  where  Tjdmage  and  his  men  made  a  still 
born  fight ;  but  the  doors  were  at  length  forcej 
open,  the  defenders  killed  or  trd^en,  and  the  biiilJ 
ing  set  on  fire.  Adam  Vrooman,  one  of  tlij 
villagers,  saw  his  wife  shot  and  his  child  biainef 
against  the  door-post;  but  he  fought  so  desjX' 
ately  that  the  assailants  promised  him  his  lit^ 
Orders  had  been  given  to  spare  Peter  Tass<Miiiikej 
the  domine  or  minister,  from  whom  it  was  thoiigll 
that  valuable  information  might  be  obtained ;  hi 

1  "The  women   h'^rg  wiili  Cliilde  ripM  up,  and  tlie  Cliililren  alij 
throwne  into  llie  fliuncs,  and  tlioir  lit-iids  dashed  to  pieces  aj^fiinst 
Poors  and  windows."     Schuyler  to  the  Council  of  Connecticut,  15  /V'a,  !?i| 
rfiniilar  statements  are  made  by  Leisler      See  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  I 
810. 


TIIIO    MASSACUK. 


215 


he  was  backed  to  pieces,  and  his  house  burned, 
j Some,  more  agile  or  more  fortunate  than  the  rest, 
itrcaiH'd  at  the  eastern  gate,  and  tied  through 
jtlie  slorin  to  seek  shelter  at  Albany  or  at  houses 
lalong  ^he  way.  Sixty  pc^rsons  were  killed  out- 
right, of  whom  thirty-eight  were  men  and  boys, 
ten  were  Avomen,  and  twelve  were  children.' 
Tlie  number  captured  appears  to  have  been  be- 
tween eighty  and  ninely.  The  thirty  Mohawks 
in  the  town  were  treated  with  studied  kindness 
by  the  victors,  who  declared  that  they  had  no 
quarrel    with    them,    but    only    with    the    Dutch 


land  English. 


The  massacre  and  pillage  continued  two  hours; 

[then  the  prisoners  were  secured,  sentinels  posted, 

land  the  men  told   to  rest  and  refresh  themselves. 

[In  the  morning,  a  small  party  crossed   the  river  to 

Itlie  house  of  Glen,  which  stood  on  a  rising  ground 

plf  a  mile  distant.     It  was  loopholed  and  palisaded  ; 

and  Glen  had  mustered  his  servants  and    tenants, 

losed  his  gates,  and  pre[)a,red  to  defend  himself. 

riie  French  told  him  to  fear  nothiner  for  thev  had 

Diders  not  to  hurt  a  chicken  of  his;  whereupon, 

after  requiring  them  to  lay  down   their  arms,  he 

llowed  them  to  enter.     They  urged  him  to  go 

l\ith  them  to  the  village,  and  he  complied  ;  they  on 

lilieir  part  leaving  one  of  their  number  as  a  hostagci 

II  the  hands  of  his  followers.     Iberville  appeared 

It  the  gate  with  the  Great  Mohawk,  and,  drawing 

MS  connnission  from  the   breast  of  his  coat,   told 

'  List  of  I/'.  People  Icild  and  destrni/ed  hy  jy«  French  of  Vanida  and  theri 
Uims  at  Skinnechladii.  in  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  I.  804. 


i 


216 


THE  TIIIIEE   WAR-l'AIlTIES. 


Glen  that  he  was  specially  charged  to  pay  a  (lebtl 
which  the  French  owed  him.     On  several  occasions 
he  had  .*-  ived  the  lives  of  French  prisoners  in  thei 
hands  of  the  Mohawks ;  and  he,  with  his  faiiiily 
and,   above    all,   his   wife,   had    shown    them   the 
greatest  kindness.      lie  was   now  led  before  the 
crowd   of   wretched    prisoners,  and   told   that  not! 
only  were  his  own  life  and  property  safe,  but  tliatl 
all  his  kindred  should  be  spared.     Glen  stretclu'dl 
his  privilege  to  the  utmost,  till  the  French  Indian  J 
disgusted    at    his    multiplied    demands   for  clt'iii. 
ency,  observed  that  everybody  seemed  to  be  \]\i\ 
relation. 

Some  of  the  houses  had  already  been  burned.l 
Fire  was  now  set  to  the  rest,  excepting  one,  inj 
which  a  French  officer  lay  wounded,  another  be«| 
longing  to  Glen,  and  three  or  four  more  which  lie 
begged  the  victors  to  spare.     At  noon  SchenecttK 
was  in  ashes.     Then  the  French  and  Indians  witli-j 
drew,  laden  with  booty.     Thirty  or  forty  captured 
horses   dragged    their   sledges ;    and    a   troop  ol 
twenty-seven  men  and  boys  were  driven  prisoner^ 
into  the  forest.     About  sixty  old  men,  women,  ad 
children  were  left  behind,  without  farther  injuryj 
in  order,  it  is  said,  to  conciliate  the  Mohawks  ii 
the  place,  w^ho  had  joined  v/ith  Glen  in  begging 
that  they  might  be   spared.     Of  the  victors,  onl) 
two  had  been  killed.^ 

1  Many  of  the  authorities  on  tlie  burning  of  Schenectady  will 
founr]  in  the  Bocianenfan/  History  of  New  York,  I.  297-312.     One  of  \\A 
most  important  is  a  portion  of  the  long  letter  of  M.  de  Monseignat,conii^ 
troller-general  of  the  marine  in  Canada,  to  a  lady  of  rank,  said  to  1 
Madame    de   Maintenon.     Others  are    contemporary   documents 


1 1090  ■  1090.1 


ALARM  AT  ALBANY. 


Iil7 


At  the  outset  of  the  attack,  Simon  Scheriner- 
korn  tlirew  himself  on  a  horse,  and  gnlloped 
through  the  eastern  gate.  The  French  shut  at 
jiid  wounded  him  ;  but  he  escaped,  reached  Al- 
baiiv  at  daybreak,  and  gave  the  alarm.  The 
l^olilier!^  and  inhabitants  were  called  to  arms,  can- 
jiioii  were  fired  to  rouse  the  country,  and  a  party 
Ij  lioi'^!cmen,  followed  by  some  friendly  Mohawks, 
bet  out  for  Schenectady.  The  Mohawks  had  prom- 
|i<eii  to  carry  the  news  to  their  three  towns  on  the 
liver  !il)0ve  ;  but,  when  they  reached  the  ruined 
i^illage,  they  were  so  frightened  at  the  scene  of 
bvoc  that  they  would  not  go  farther.  Two  days 
DaN<ed  before  the  alarm  reached  the  Mohawk 
im\^.    Then  troops  of  warriors  came  down  on 

lervcd  at  Albany;  including,  among  others,  tlie  lists  of  killed  and  cap- 
red,  letters  of  Leisler  to  the  governor  of  iMuryland,  tlie  governor  of 
]I;is>iicliu?etts,  the  governor  of  Barbadoes.and  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury; 
|f  Robert  Livingston  to  Sir  Edmund  Andros  and  to  Captain  Nicholson  ; 
m!  of  Mr.  Van  Cortlandt  to  Sir  Edmund  Andros.  One  of  the  best 
Mitemporary  p'.itliorities  is  a  letter  of  Scluiyler  and  his  colleagues  to 
|iej:(ivernor  an;:  council  of  Massachusetts,  15  February,  IGDO,  preserved 

the  Massachusetts  archives,  and  printed  in  the  third  volume  of  Mr. 

iiitmore's  Andros   Tracts.     La  Potherie,   Charlevoix,  Colden,   Smith, 

1  many  others,  give  accounts  at  second-hand. 

Joli;\m.>o  Sander,  or  Alexander,  Glen,  was  the  son  of  a  Scotchman  of 
blfiiniily.  He  was  usually  known  as  Captain  Sainler.  The  French 
We  tlie  name  Cendre,  which  became  transformed  into  Condre,  and  then 
[to  i'ondre.  In  the  old  family  Bible  of  thb  Glens,  still  preserved  at  the 
laied  named  by  them  Scotia,  near  Schenectady,  is  an  entry  in  Dutch 
li'irdino;  (lie  "murders  "  committed  by  the  French,  and  the  exemption 
[cordoil  to  Alexander  Glen  on  account  of  services  rendered  by  him  and 

fiiniily  to  Frencli  prisoners.  See  Proceedings  of  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc, 
46, 118.' 

The  French,  called  Sclienectady  Corlacr  or  Corlar,  from  Van  Curler, 
I  founder.  Its  treatment  at  their  hands  was  ill  deserved,  as  its  inhab- 
j^nts,  and  notably  Van  Curler  himself,  had  from  the  earliest  times  been 
protectors  of  French  captives  among  the  Moliawks.  Leisler  says 
at  only  one-sixth  of  the  inhabitants  escaped  unhurt. 


m 


218 


THE   THREE   WAll-PARTIES. 


Bnovv-slioes,    equipped    with    toinaluiwk   and    (ri,,, 
to  chase  the  retiring  French.     Fifty  young  \i\(J 
from  Albany  joined  them  ;  and  they  followed  tlie 
trail  of  the  enemy,  who,  with   the   help  of  lii(M|.| 
horses,   made   such    speed    over   the   ice    of   L|i,,J 
Champlaln  that  it  seemed   impossible  to  ovoiink, 
them.     They  thought  the  pursuit  abandoned  ;  aiidj 
having  killed  and  eaten  most  of  their  horses,  ;ii^l| 
being  spent  with  fatigue,  they  moved  more  slowlvf 
as  they  neared  home,  when  a  band  of  Molunvk^ 
who  had  followed  stanchly  on  their  track,  fell  iipua 
a  party  of  stragglers,  and  killed  or  captured  fiftii'i 
or  more,  almost  within  sight  of  Montreal. 

Three  of  these  prisoners,  examined  by  ScliuvlcrJ 
declared  that  Frontenac  was  preparing  for  a  giani] 
attack  on  Albany  in  the  spring.  In  the  politicaj 
confusion  of  the  time,  the  place  was  not 
fighting  condition ;  and  Schuyler  appealed  ioi 
help  to  the  authorities  of  Massachusetts.  "Dea| 
neighbours  and  friends,  we  must  acquaint  you  1 
nevir  poor  People  in  the  world  was  in  a  w^orse  Con] 
dition  than  we  are  at  Present,  no  Governoiir  uoj 
Command,  no  money  to  forward  any  expeditionl 
and  scarce  Men  enou<>'h  to  maintain  the  Cittvi 
We  have  here  plainly  laid  the  case  before  }oi| 
and  doubt  not  but  you  will  so  much  take  it 
heart,  and  make  all  Readinesse  in  the  Spring 
invade  Canida  by  water."  ^  The  Mohawks  wen 
of  the  same  mind.  Their  elders  came  doAvn  tj 
Albany  to  condole  with  their  Dutch  and  EnglisI 


1  Schuyler,  [Vessell,  and  Van  Rensselaer  to  the  Governor  and  Council  \ 
Massachusetts,  15  Feb.,  1G90,  in  Andres  Tracts,  III.  114. 


RETREAT  OF  THE   VICTORS. 


210 


frien<ls  on   the  late  disaster.      "  We    are  oonie/* 

j;ii(l  their   orator,   "  witli    tears    in    our   eyes,    to 

llament  the    nuirders    committed    at    SehenecUidy 

bvthe  perfidious  French.    Onontio  conies  to  our 

country  to  speak  of  peace,  but  war  is  at  his  heart. 

lit' luis  broken  into  our  bouse  at  both  ends,  once 

among'  the   Senecas  and  once  here;  but  we  hopo 

to  be    revenged.     Brethren,  our   covenant    with 

Ivoii  is  a  silver  chain  that  cannot  rust  or  break.    We 

[are  of  the  race  of  the  bear ;  and  the  bear  does  not 

yield,  so  long  as  there  is  a  drop  of  blood  in  his 

body.    Let  us  all  be  bears      We  will  go  together 

hvith  an  army  to  ruin  the  country  of  the  French. 

[Therefore,  send    in   all   haste    to    New    England. 

|Lot  them  be  ready  with  ships  and  great  guns  to 

attack   by   water,    while    we    attack    by   land."  * 

Schuyler  did  not  trust  his  red  allies,  who,  however, 

Beeni  on  this  occasion  to  have  meant  what  they 

iid.    lie  lost  no  time  in  sending  commissioners  to 

urge  the  several  governments  of  New  England  to 

combined  attack  on  the  French. 

New  England  needed  no  prompting  to  take  up 
irms;  for  she  presently  learned  to  her  cost  that, 
though  feeble  and  prostrate,  Canada  could  sting. 
[he  Avur-party  which  attacked  Schenectady  was,  as 
*e  have  seen,  but  one  of  three  which  Frontenac 
lad  sent  against  the  English  borders.  The  second, 
limed  at  New  Hampshire,  left  Three  Rivers  on  the 
Iwenty-eighth  of  January,  commanded  by  Fran^'oia 


'  Propositions  made  hy  the  Sachems  of  y*  Ma qnaae  (Mohaivk)  Castles  <« 
Maijor,  Aldermen,  and  Commonality  of  y'.   Citty  of  Albany,  y*  26  day  of 
fhnary,  1690,  in  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  11.  164-169. 


220 


TUE   TIIKHK   WAU-rAUTIES. 


liObMe.H(^^'l 


Ilertel.  It  consisted  of  twenty-four  Frenrlitiicn 
twenty  Abeniikis  of  the  Sokoki  bjind,  and  fiva 
Al^oH(jiiins.  After  tliree  months  of  excessive  hard. 
Bhip  in  the  vast  jukI  ruii'iL'-ed  wilderness  that  iuhi 
vened,  they  ai)pr()ji('he(l  the  little  seltleinciit  ofj 
Salmon  Falls  on  the  stream  which  separates  Xcr 
Hampshire  from  Maine  ;  and  here  for  a  nionKut 
we  leave  them,  to  observe  the  stiite  of  this  unh.ijipv 
frontier. 

It  was  twelve  years  and  more  since  iha  grca 
Indian  outbreak,  called  King  Philip's  War,  Imd 
carried  havoc  through  all  the  borders  of  New  Eii 
land.  After  months  of  stubborn  fighting,  thu  fin* 
was  quenched  in  Massachusetts,  Plymouth,  ami 
Connecticut;  but  in  New  llam])sliire  and  Maine  it 
continued  to  burn  fiercely  till  the  treaty  of  Casco, 
in  1678.  The  principal  Indians  of  this  region  were 
the  tribes  known  collectively  as  the  Abenakis. 
The  French  had  established  relations  with  tlioiii 
through  the  missionaries ;  and  now,  seizing  the  op- 
portunity, they  persuaded  many  of  these  distressed 
and  ex'isperated  savagej?  to  leave  the  neighborhood 
of  the  English,  migrate  to  Canada,  and  settle  first 
at  Sillery  near  Quebec  and  then  at  the  falls  of  tlie 
Chaudiere.  Here  the  two  Jesuits,  Jacques  and 
Vincent  Bigot,  prime  agents  in  their  removal,  took 
them  in  charge ;  and  the  missions  of  St.  Francis 
became  villages  of  Abenaki  Christians,  like  the 
village  of  Iroquois  Christians  at  Saut  St.  Louis. 
In  both  cases,  tlie  emigrants  were  sheltered  under 
the  wing  of  Canada;  and  they  and  their  tomahawks 
were  always  at  her  service.   The  tw^o  Bigots  spared 


(K^HMoK^O] 


Tin:   ABF.NAKI   WAR. 


001 


Do  p.'iin>^  to  indiioo  more  of  the  AlxMuikis  to  join 
t'<o  mission  colonies.    They  were  in  good  measure 
luocossltil,  though  the  grejit  Ixxly  ol"  the  trihe  still 
iiig  to  their  ancient  homes  on  the  Snco,  the  Kcn- 
lie!)Oc.  and  the  Penobscot.' 

Tlioie  were  ten  years  of  critical   mid   dubious 
K^ace  iilong  the  Englisli  border,  and  then  the  war 
iroko  out  again.     The  occasion  of  this  new  up- 
isiiiLT  is  not  very  clear,  and  it  is  hjirdly  worth 
diile  to  look  for  it.     Between  the  harsh  and  reck- 
less borderer  on  the  one  side,  and  the  fierce  savage 
linthe  other,  a  single  spark  nn'ght  at  any  moment 
ettlie  frontier  in  a  blaze.     The  English,  however, 
lievod  firndy  that  their  Freiich  rivals  had  a  hand 
the  new  outbreak  ;  and,  in  fact,  the  Abenakis  told 
oiiic  of  their  English  captives  that  Saint-Castin,  a 
Freiicli  adventurer  on  the  Penobscot,  gave  every 
di.in  who  wouhJl  go  to  the  w\ar  a  pound  of  gun- 
3\v(1er,  two  pounds  of  lead,  and  a  supply  of  to- 
facco.^    The  trading  house  of  Saint-Castin,  which 
itood  on  ground  claimed  by  England,  had  lacely 
een  plundered  by  Sir  Edmund  Andros,  and  some 
If  the  English  had  foretold  that  an  Indian  war 
mU  be  the  consequence ;  but  none  of  them  seem 
It  this  time  to  have  suspected  that  the  governor  of 
Canada  and  his  Jesuit  friends  had  any  part  in  their 
roes.    Yet  there  is  proof  that  this  was  the  case ; 


'  The  Abenaki  migration  to  Canada  began  as  early  as  the  autumn 
[1G75  {Relation,  1G76-77).  On  tlie  mission  of  St.  Francis  on  tlie  Cliau- 
fere,  sec  Bigot,  Relation,  1684 ;  Ibid.,  1685.  It  was  afterwards  removed 
I  the  river  St.  Francis. 

5  Hutcliinson,  Hist.  Mass.,  I.  326.  Compare  N.  Y.  Col  Docs.,  IV.  28^ 
V6, 


222 


THE  THREE   WAR-PARTIES. 


[1088-6^ 


for  Denonville  himself  wrote  to  the  minister  at 
Yersaill'js  that  the  successes  of  the  Abenakis  on 
this  occasion  w^ere  clue  to  the  "  good  understaiulino 
which  he  had  with  them,"  by  means  of  the  two 
brothers  Bigot  and  other  Jesuits.* 

Whatever  were  the  influences  that  kindled  ani 
maiiitained  the  war,  it  spread  dismay  and  liavou 
through  the  English  settlements.  Andros  at  imi 
made  light  of  it,  and  complained  of  the  autlioritiej 
of  Boston,  because  in  his  absence  they  had  senj 
troops  to  protect  the  settlers ;  but  he  soon  changed 
his  mind,  and  in  the  winter  went  .ximself  to  tlia 
Bcene  of  action  with  seven  hundred  men.  Notaii 
Indian  did  he  find.     They  had  all  withdrawn  intd 


1  "En  partant  de  Crnada,  j'ay  laissd  uno  trhs  grande  disposition i 
attiriir  au  Chrigtianisme  la  plus  grande  partie  des  sauvages  Abeiial!i| 
qui  f.bitcnt  les  bois  du  voisinage  de  Baston.  Pour  cela  il  fa",t  les  attira 
h  ia  mission  nouvellenicnt  ctablie  pros  Quebec  sous  le  nom  de  S.  Frait 
9ois  de  Sale.  Je  I'ai  vue  en  pen  de  temps  au  nombre  de  six  cents  ama 
venues  du  voisinage  de  Baston.  Je  I'ay  Liisstse  en  estat  d'augment«i 
beaucoup  si  elle  est  protegee  ;  j'y  ai  fait  quelque  depense  qui  n'est  psi 
inutile.  La  bonne  intelligpnce  quo.  fni  eiip  aver  re."  smwaiici  par  Irs  soinuM 
j€stiites,  et  siirfout  des  deux  peres  Bifjot  f teres  a  fait  le  sncees  de  toutes  les m 
taques  qn'ils  ont  fakes  snr  las  Anglois  cet  esi^,  aux  quels  ils  out  enleve 
forts,  outre  celuy  de  Pemcuit  [Pemaqwd]  ou  il  y  avoit  20  pieces 
canon,  et  leur  ont  tue  plus  de  200  hommes.  '  Denonville  au  Ministt 
Jan.,  1G90. 

It  is  to  be  observed  tbat  this  Indian  outbreak  began  in  the  svimraerD 
1R88,  when  there  was  peace  between  France  ar.a  Lngland.  News  of  tin 
declaration  of  war  did  not  reach  Canada  till  July,  1(389.  (BelraontJ 
Dover  and  other  places  were  attacked  in  June  of  the  same  year. 

The  intendantChampigny  says  that  most  of  the  Indians  whoattack»| 
Ihe  English  were  from  the  mission  villages  near  Quebec.  Champigniji 
Afinistre,  16  Nov.,  1689.  He  says  also  that  he  supplied  them  with 
powder  for  the  war. 

The  "  forts  "  taken  by  the  Indians  on  the  Kennebec  at  this  time  n 
nothing  but  houses  protected  by  palisades.  They  were  taken  by  tread 
ery  and  surprise.  Leftre  dn  Phre  Thnry,  1689.  Thury  says  tfiat 
men,  women,  and  children  were  killed 


ll688-6'j.Bij^«u80.] 


REVOLUTION  AT  BOSTON. 


223 


flie  depths  of  the  frozen  forest.  Andros  did  what 
becoiil'l,  and  left  more  than  five  hundred  men  in 
crairison  on  the  Kennehec  and  the  Saco,  at  Casco 
Bav,  Peinaquid,  and  various  other  exposed  points. 
He  then  returned  to  Boston,  where  srrprising 
events  awaited  hin..  Early  in  April,  news  came 
that  the  Prince  of  Orange  haa  landed  in  England. 
There  was  great  excitement.  The  people  of  the 
town  rose  against  Andros,  whom  they  detested  as 
the  agent  of  the  despotic  policy  of  James  II.  They 
captured  his  two  forts  with  their  garrisons  of 
regulars,  seized  his  frigate  in  the  harbor,  placed 
hun  and  his  chief  adherents  in  custody,  elected  a 
council  of  safety,  and  set  at  its  head  their  former 
governor,  Brad  street,  an  old  man  of  eighty-seven. 
;The  change  was  disastrous  to  the  eastern  frontier. 
f  the  garrisons  left  for  its  protection  the  winter 
[before,  some  were  partially  withdrawn  by  the  new 
oimcil ;  while  others,  at  the  first  news  of  the  revolu- 
ion,  mutinied,  seized  their  officers,  and  returned 
bme.^  These  garrisons  were  withdrawn  or  reduced, 

'  Andros,  Account  of  Forces  in  Maine,  in  3  Mass.  Rist.  Coll.,  I.  86. 

Compare  xlndros  Tracts,  I.  177;  Ibid.,  II.  181,  103,  207,  213,  217;  laid., 

11.232;  Report  of  Andros  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Dors.,  III.  722.     The  order  for 

|lie  reduction  of  tlie  garrisons  and  the  return  of  the  suspected  officers 

jras  passed  at  the  first  session  of  tl.:-  council  of  safety,  20  April.     The 

kcnts  of  Massachusetts  at  London  endeavored  to  justify  it.    See  Atidrct 

Tracts,  III.  34.    The  only  regular  troops  in  New  England  were  two  com- 

anies  brought  by  Andros.     Most  of  them  were  kept  at  Boston,  though 

(few  men  and  officers  were  sent  to  the  eastern  garrison.   These  regulars 

jfere regarded  with  great  jealousy,  and  fl,  nounced  as  "  a  crew  that  began 

iteacli  New  England  to  Drab,  Drink,  Blaspheme,  Curse,  and  Dart'ii." 

nd.,  II.  50. 

In  tlieir  hatred  of  Andros,  many  of  the  people  of  New  England  held 
he  jj;rouiulless  and  foolish  belief  that  he  was  in  secret  collusion  with  the 
pnch  nnd  Indians.    Their  most  dangerous  domestic  enemies  were  some 

their  own  traders,  .who  covertly  sold  arms  and  ammunition  to  the 
Bdians. 


HI 


224 


THE  THREE  WAR-PARTIES. 


[1088-89. 


partly  perhaps  because  the  hated  governor  liarli 
established  them,  partly  through  distrust  of  hijj 
ofTicers,  some  oi  whom  were  taken  from  the  rorr-i 
ulars,  and  partly  because  the  men  were  wanted  a 
Bofton.  The  order  of  withdrawal  cannot  be  too! 
strongly  condemned.  It  was  a  part  of  the  bungling 
inefficiency  which  marked  the  military  managemeii 
of  the  New  England  governments  from  the  close  o; 
Philip's  war  to  the  peace  of  Utrecht. 

When  spring  opened,  the  Indians  turned  ^vlthl 
redoubled   fury  against   the   defenceless  frontier, 
seized  the  abandoned  stockades,  and  butchered  tin 
helpless   settlers.     Now   occurred  the  memora 
catastrophe  at  Cocheco,  or  Dover.     Two  squawJ 
came  at  evening  and  begged  lodging  in  the  pali 
saded  house  of  Major  Waldron.     At  night,  ^vlle 
all  was  still,  they  opened  the  gates  and  let  in  tliei 
savage  countrymen.     Waldron  was  eighty  year 
old.     He  leaped  from  his  bed,  seized  his  sword 
and  drove  back  the  assailants  through  two  rooms 
but,  as  he  turned  to  snatch  his  pistols,  they  stunne 
him  by  the  blow  of  a  hatchet,  bound  him  in  a 
arm-chair,  and  placed  him  on  a  table,  where  aftei 
torturing  him  they  killed  him  with  his  own  sword 

The  crowning  event  of  the  war  was  the  captiin 
of  Pemaquid,  a  stockade  work,  mounted  with  seve 
or  eight  cannon.  Andros  had  placed  in  it  a  garri' 
sonof  a  hundred  and  fifty-six  men,  under  an  oilicei 
devoted  to  him.  Most  of  them  had  been  with 
drawn  by  the  council  of  safety ;  and  the  entin 
force  of  the  defenders  consisted  of  Lieutenant  Jam 
Weems  and  thirty  soldiers,  nearly  half  of  who 


89.] 


CAPTURE  OF  PEMAQUID. 


225 


appear  to  have  been  absent  at  the  time  of  the 
attack.'     The  Indian  assailants  were  about  a  hun- 
dred in  number,  all  Christian  converts  from  mission 
villages.     By  a  sudden  rush,  they  got  possession 
of  a  number  of  houses  behind  the  fort,  occupied 
only  by  women  and   children,  the   men  being  at 
their  work.^     Some   ensconced  themselves  in  the 
cellars,  and  others  behind  a  rock  on  the  seashore, 
whence  they  kept  up  a  close  and  galling  hre.     On 
the  next  day,  Weems  surrendered,  under  a  promise 
of  life,  and,  as  the  English  say,  of  liberty  to  him- 
self and  all  his  followers.     The  fourteen  men  who 
had  survived  the  fire,  along  with  a  number  of  w^omen 
and  children,  issued  from  the  gate,  upon  which  some 
were  butchered  on  the  spot,  and  the  rest,  except- 
ing Wccms  and  a  few  others,  were  made  prisoners. 
In  other  respects,  the  behavior  of  the  victors  is 
to  have  been  creditable.     They  tortured  no- 
body, and  their  chiefs  broke  the  rum  barrels  in  the 
'ort,  to  prevent  disorder.     Father  Thury,  a  priest 
f  the  seminary  of  Quebec,  w^as  present  at  the 
ttack ;  and  the  assailants  were  a  part  of  his  Abe- 
aki  Hock.    Religion  was  one  of  the  impelling  forces 
f  the  war.     In  the  eyes  of  the  Indian  converts,  it 

^  Andros  in  3  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  I.  85.     The  original  commanding 

bfficor,  Rrocldioles,  was  reputed  a  "  papist."     Hence  his  removal.     ^In- 

Mm  Tivcts,  Til,  35.     Andros  says  that  but  cifjbtecn  men  were  left  in  tlte 

|ort.    A  list  of  them  in  the  archives   of  Massachusetts,    certified   by 

Ceenisliiniself,  shows  that  there  were  thirty.     Doubt  is  tlirovvn  on  tliis 

ertificate  liy  the  fact  that  the  object  of  it  was  to  obtain  a  jjrant  of 

nnney  in  return  for  advances  of  pay  made  by  Weems  to  his  soldiers. 

Teems  was  a  regular  officer.     A  number  of  letters  from  him,  showing 

lis  condition  before  the  attack,  will  be  found  in  Johnston,  History  of 

frkol,  Birmen,  and  Pemaquid. 

^  Cniitivity  of  John  Gyles.    Gyles  was  one  of  the  inhabitants 

16 


I   ' 


'    M 


226 


THE  THREE  WAR-PARTIES. 


M\ 


was  a  crusade  against  the  enemies  of  God.  They 
made  their  vows  to  the  Virgin  before  the  fight ; 
and  the  squaws,  in  their  distant  villages  on  the 
Penobscot,  told  unceasing  beads,  and  offered  un- 
ceasing prayers  for  victory.^ 

The  war  now  ran  like  wildfire  through  the 
settlements  of  Maine  and  New  Hampshire.  Six- 
teen  fortified  houses,  with  or  without  defenders, 
are  said  to  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy ; 
and  the  extensive  district  then  called  the  county 
of  Cornwall  was  turned  to  desolation.  Massachu- 
setts and  Plymouth  sent  hasty  levies  of  raw  men,  ill- 
armed  and  ill-ofhcered,  to  the  scene  of  action.  At 
Casco  Bay,  they  met  a  large  body  of  Indians,  whom 
they  routed  after  a  desultory  fight  of  six  hours;! 
and  then,  as  the  approaching  winter  seemed  to] 
promise  a  respite  from  attack,  most  of  them  werej 
withdrawn  and  disbanded. 


1  Thury,  Relation  du  Combat  des  Canibas.    Compare  Hutchinson,  Hiii 
Afass.,  I.  362,  and  Mather,  Magnalia,  II.  690  (ed.  1853).     The  murder  of 
prisoners  after  the  capitulation  has  been  denied.    Thury  incidentally  coo' 
firms  the  statement,  when,  after  saying  that  he  exhorted  the  Indians! 
refrain  from  drunkenness  and  cruelty,  he  adds  that,  in  consequence,  thejj 
did  not  take  a  single  scalp,  and  "  tnerent  sur  le  champ  cetix  qu'ils  voubm 
tuer." 

English  accounts  place  the  number  of  Indians  at  from  two  to  thn 
hundred.  Besides  the  persons  taken  in  the  fort,  a  considerable  numb 
were  previously  killed,  or  captured  in  the  houses  and  fields.  Those  ffli| 
were  spared  were  carried  to  the  Indian  towns  on  the  Penobscot,  the  seij 
of  Thury's  mission.  La  Motte-Cadillac,  in  his  M^moire  sur  l'Acadie.,M 
says  that  80  persons  in  all  were  killed ;  an  evident  exaggeration, 
adds  that  Weems  and  six  men  were  spared  at  the  request  of  the  ( 
Madockawando.  The  taking  of  Pemaquid  is  remarkable  as  one  of  iH 
very  rare  'nstances  in  which  Indians  have  captured  a  fortified  pi* 
otherwise  than  by  treachery  or  surprise.  The  exploit  was  undoubtelj 
due  to  French  prompting.  We  shall  see  hereafter  with  what  energy  a 
success  Thury  incited  his  flock  to  war. 


'•] 


CAPTURE  OF  SALMON  FALLS. 


22V 


It  was  a  false  and  fatal  security.  Through  snow 
and  ice  and  storm,  Hertel  and  his  band  were  mov- 
incr  on  their  prey.  On  the  night  of  the  twenty- 
seventh  of  March,  they  lay  hidden  in  the  forest 
that  bordered  the  farms  and  clearings  of  Salmon 
Falls.  Their  scouts  reconnoitred  the  place,  and 
found  a  fortified  house  with  two  stockade  forts 
built  as  a  refuge  for  the  settlers  in  case  of  alarm. 
Towards  daybreak,  Hertel,  dividing  his  followers 
into  three  parties,  made  a  sudden  and  simultane- 
ous attack.  The  settlers,  unconscious  of  danger, 
were  in  their  beds.  No  watch  was  kept  even  in 
the  so-called  forts ;  and,  when  the  French  and  In- 
dians burst  in,  there  was  no  time  for  their  few 
tenants  to  gather  for  defence.  The  surprise  was 
complete ;  and,  after  a  short  struggle,  the  assailants 
were  successful  at  every  point.  They  next  turned 
upon  tlie  scattered  farms  of  the  neighborhood, 
burned  houses,  barns,  and  cattle,  and  laid  the 
entire  settlement  in  ashes.  About  thirty  persons 
of  both  sexes  and  all  ages  were  tomahawked  or 
shot;  and  fifty -four,  chiefly  women  and  children, 
[were  made  prisoners.  Two  Indian  scouts  now 
(brought  word  that  a  party  of  English  was  advanc- 
liug  to  the  scene  of  havoc  from  Piscataqua,  or  Ports- 
inoiith,  not  many  miles  distant.  Hertel  called  his 
men  together,  and  began  his  retreat.  The  pur- 
[suers,  a  hundred  and  forty  in  number,  overtook 
[him  about  sunset  at  Wooster  River,  where  the 
swollen  rstream  was  crossed  by  a  narrow  bridge, 
[ertel  and  his  followers  made  a  stand  on  the  far- 
ther bank,  killed  and  wounded  a  number  of  the  Eng- 


228 


THE   THREE   WAR-PARTIES. 


[1000  ■  m] 


lish  as  tliey  attempted  to  cross,  kept  np  a  ])risk  fire 
on  the  rest,  held  them  in  check  till  night,  and  then 
continued  their  retreat.  The  prisoners,  or  some  of 
them,  were  given  to  the  Indians,  who  tortured  one 
or  more  of  the  men,  and  killed  and  tormented  chi]. 
dren  and  infants  with  a  cruelty  not  always  equalled 
by  their  heathen  countrymen.' 

Hertel  continued  his  retreat  to  one  of  the  Abe- 
naki villages  on  the  Kennebec.  Here  he  learned 
that  a  band  of  French  and  Indians  had  lately 
passed  southward  on  their  way  to  attack  the  En^- 
lish  fort  at  Casco  Bay,  on  the  site  of  Portland. 
Leaving  at  the  village  his  eldest  son,  who  had 
been  badly  wounded  at  Wooster  River,  he  set  ontj 
to  join  them  with  thirty-six  of  his  followers.  Tli 
band  in  question  was  Frontenac's  third  war-part v.| 
It  consisted  of  fifty  French  and  sixty  Abenaki 
from  the  mission  of  St.  Francis ;  and  it  had  lefi 
Quebec  in  January,  under  a  Canadian  officev  name 

1  The  archives  of  Massachusetts  contain  various  papers  on  tlie  di* 
aster  at  Salmon  FaUs.    Among  them  is  the  report  of  the  authorities  oj 
Portsmouth  to  the  governor  and  council  at  Boston,  giving  many  parj 
ti'julars,  and  asking  aid.     They  estimate  the  killed  and  ciipturod 
upwards  of  eighty,  of  whom  about  one  fourth  were  men.    They  say  tliaj 
about  twenty  houses  were  burnt,  and  mention  but  one  fort.    The  otlieij 
mentioned  in  the  French  accounts,  was  probably  a  palisaded  hniisej 
Speaking  of  the  combat  at  the  bridge,  they  say,  "  We  fouglit  as  long; 
we  could  distinguish  friend  from  foe.     We  lost  two  killed  and  sixi 
seven   wounded,  one  mortally."     The  French  accounts  say  fourteeij 
This  letter  is  accompanied  by  the  examination  of  a  Krendi  jjiisonea 
taken  the  same  day.     Compare  Mather,  Mmjivilia,  II.  5'Jo;  Belknaij 
Hist.  New  Hampshire,!.  201 ;  Journal  of  Re  r.  John  Pike   {Prormlinrjs  > 
Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  1875  ) ;  and  the  French  accounts  of  Monseignat  andl 
Potherie.     Charlevoix  adds  various  embellishments,  not  to  be  found i 
the  original  sources.    Later  writers  copy  and  improve  upon  him,  unti 
Hertel  is  pictured  as  charging  the  pursuers  sword  in  hand,  while  tl^ 
English  fly  in  disorder  before  him. 


[1600  ■  0] 


CASCO  BAY. 


229 


Portneuf  and  his  lieutenant,  Courtemanche.  They 
aclvaiiced  at  their  leisure,  often  stopping  to  hunt, 
till  in  May  they  were  joined  on  the  Kennebec  by 
a  large  body  of  Indian  warriors.  On  the  twenty- 
fifth,  Portneuf  encamped  in  the  forest  near  the 
English  forts,  with  a  force  which,  including  Hertel's 
party,  the  Indians  of  the  Kennebec,  and  another 
band  led  by  Saint-Castin  from  the  Penobscot, 
amounted  to  between  four  and  five  hundred  men.* 

Fort  Loyal  was  a  palisade  work  with  eight  can- 
non, standing  on  rising  ground  by  the  shore  of  the 
bay,  at  what  is  now  the  foot  of  India  Ftreet  in  the 
city  of  Portland.  Not  far  distant  were  four  block- 
houses and  a  village  which  they  were  designed  to 
protect.  These  with  the  fort  were  occupied  by  about 
ahundred  men,  chiefly  settlers  of  the  neighborhood, 
under  Captain  Sylvanus  Davis,  a  prominent  trader. 

round  lay  rough  and  broken  fields  stretching  to 
he  skirts  of  the  forest  half  a  mile  distant.     Some 

PortneulE's  scoats  met  a  straggling  Scotchman, 
nd  could  not  resist  the  temptation  of  killing 
Their  scalp-yells  alarmed  the  garrison,  and 


urn. 


iiis  the  advantage  of  surprise  was  lost.  Davis 
[esolved  to  keep  his  men  within  their  defences, 

id  to  stand  on  his  guard;  but  there  was  little 
[r  no   discipline    in    the    yeoman    garrison,    and 

lirty  3'oung  volunteers  under  Lieutenant  Thad- 
|eus  Clark  sallied  out  to  find  the  enemy.  They 
l^ere  too  successful ;  for,  as  they  approached  the 

3p  of  a  hill  near  the  woods,  they  observed  a  num- 

Br  of  cattle  staring  with  a  scared  look  at  some 


^  Declaration  of  Sylvanus  Davis ;  Mather,  Maynalia,  II.  603. 


230 


THK   TIIUKK    WAIl-PARTIKS. 


flflflO 


object  on  flio  faribor  sido  of  a  fence;  nnd.  rlirjiilv 
judging  ibat  tbose  iliey  songbt  were  bidden  tlicrc, 
they  raised  a  cbeer,  and  ran  lo  ibe  sjx)!,.  Tliov 
were  met  by  a  fire  so  close  and  deadly  Ibal  half 
tbeir  nnniber  were  sbot  down.  A  crowd  of  Indians 
leaped  tbe  fence  and  rnsbed  npon  tbe  survivors, 
wbo  ran  for  tbe  fort ;  but  only  four,  all  of  wliorii 
were  wounded,  succeeded  in  reacbing  it.' 

Tbe  men  in  tbe  Mocldiouses  witbdrew  iindrr 
cover  of  nigbt  to  Fort  Loyal,  wbere  tbe  \\li()I(. 
force  of  ibe  English  was  now  gathered  along  with 
tbeir  frightened  families.  Portneuf  determined  to 
besiege  tbe  place  in  form;  and,  after  burnini:  the 
village,  and  colbM^iing  tool.*^  from  tbe  abandoned 
blockhouse?  be  opened  bis  trenches  in  a.  deep  i^qilly 
within  fifty  yards  of  the  fort,  where  his  men  were 
completely  protected.  They  worked  so  well  thut 
in  three  days  they  bad  wormed  tbeir  way  close  to 
the  palisade  ;  and,  covered  as  they  were  in  tlicir 
burrows,  they  lost  scarcely  a  man,  whil^  tbeir  (mu- 
mies  suffered  severelv.  Tliev  now  sunnnoned  thej 
fort  to  surrender.  Davis  asked  i^r  a  dela  v  of  «!x 
days,  which  was  refused ;  and  in  the  morning  the] 
fight  began  again.  Por  a  timo  the  fire  was  ««lia!] 
and  heavy.  The  English  wasted  much  powder  in| 
vain  efforts  to  dislodge  the  besiegers  from  tlieii 
trenches;  till  at  length,  seeing  a  ma-cbine  loadet 
with  a  tar-barrel  and  other  combustibles  shov( 
against  their  palisades  they  asked  for  a  parlevj 
Up  to  this  time,  Davis  had  supposed  that  his  assai! 
ant^  were  all  Indians,  the  French  being  probablj 

1  Relation  de  Monseignat ;  La  Potlierie,  III.  79. 


^  Their 
On  the 

rithMa'" 

3  Mass. 

'rencl.'.  nan 

lalhc  ton; 


THE   ENOLISII    SUFIRKNDKR. 


1^31 


dressed  and  \yi\'\uioA  lik(»  flioir  r(;(l  jillicH.  "  We 
deiiiantl'MJ,"  Ik^  Hays,  "  if  Www  \v(mh;  nuy  French 
aiiioni,^  iIm'iu,  and  if  i\w,y  would  give  iih  (|uurfer. 
Tlioy  juiswered  that  they  were  Frenchmen,  and 
that  tli(\V  woukl  jjjive  us  good  fjUJirter.  Upon  this, 
\^e  sent,  out  to  tliein  agjiin  to  know  from  whence 
thoy  Ciune,  and  if  they  would  fnve  us  good  (juarter 
for  our  men,  women,  and  (!hildr(!u,  both  wounded 
811(1  sound,  and  (to  deniJiiid)  that  w(^  should  have 
liberty  to  march  to  the  next  P^nglish  town,  and 
have  II  guard  for  our  defence  and  safety  ;  then  we 
would  surrender ;  and  jilso  that  the  governour  of 
the  FrcMudi  should  hold  up  his  hand  and  swear  by 
the  ^n'oat  and  ever  living  God  that  the  several 
articles  should  be  performed :  all  which  he  did 
solemnly  swear." 

The  survivors  of  the  garrison  now  filed  through 
the  gate,  and  laid  down  their  arms.     They  with 
their  women  and  children  were  thereupon  aban- 
doned to  the  Indians,  who  murd(  '^ed  many  of  thf  in, 
nd  carried  ofi'  the  rest.     When  Davis  protested 
gainst  this  breach  of  faith,  he  was  told  that  he  and 
is  countrymen  were  rebels   against  their  lawful 
ing,  James  II.    After  spiking  the  cannon,  burning 
he  fort,  and  destroying  all  the  neighboring  settle- 
iients,  the  triumphant  allies  departed  for  their  re- 
pective  homes,  leaving  the  slain  unburied  where 
hey  had  fallen.^ 

*  Their  remains  were  buried  by  Captain  Church,  tiiree  years  later. 

On  tlie  capture  of  Fort  Loyal,  compare  Monseignat  and  La  Potherie 
»ith  Ma '"^•*,  3/a<7n«/<a,  11.603,  and  the   Declarati'n  of  Si/lranus  Davis. 

3  }fass.  Hist.  Coll.,  I.  lOL  Davis  makes  curious  mistakes  in  regard  to 
frencii  names,  his  rustic  ear  not  bein<<  accustomed  to  the  accents  of  the 
Sallic  ton:;ue.     He  calli  Courtemanche,  ?'lonsieur  Corte  de  March,  and 


232 


THE  THREE   WAU-rAUTIES. 


1169a 


i! 


11 


Davis  with  three  or  four  others,  more  fortuimtp 
than  tlieir  companions,  was  kept  hy  the  French, 
and  carried  to  Canada.     "  They  were  kind  to  mo," 
he  says, '^  on  my  tiiivels  through  the  country.    I 
arrived  at  Queheck  the  14th  of  June,  where  I  wmi 
civilly  treated  by  the  gentry,  and  soon  carried  toj 
the  fort  before  the  governour,  the  Earl  of  Fron- 
tenack."     Frontenac  told   him  that  the  governor  I 
and  peopk  of  Ne.v  York  were  the   cause  of  the 
war,  since  they  had  stirred  up  the  Iroquois  against 
Canada,  and   prompted   them    to   torture   FrcMidi 
prisoners.^     Davis  replied  that  New  York  and  Newl 
Eni.':lnnd  were  distinct  and  separate  governments,! 
each  of  which  mnst  answer  for  its  own  deeds ;  andl 
that  New  England  would    gladly  have    reiiiainedl 
at  peace  with  the  French,  if  they  had  not  set  oal 
the  Indians  to  attack  her  peaceful  settlers.     Fron- 
tenac admitted  thiit  the  people  of  New^  Engliiiiflj 
were  not  to  be  regarded  in  the  same  light  whl 
those    w^ho   had    stirred    up   the    Indians  against 
Canada ;  but  he  added  that  they  were  all  rebels  to 
their  king,  and  that  if  they  had  been  good  subjed 
there  would  have  been  no  w^ar.     "  I  do  believe,'] 

Portneuf,  Monsieur  Burniffe  or  Burnoffe.  To  these  contemporary  aa 
tliorities  may  be  added  the  account  given  by  Le  Clercq,  J^UtblisttcmnU 
la  Foji,  IT.  893,  and  a  letter  from  Governor  Bradstreet  of  jMassiulnuett^ 
to  Jacob  Leisler  in  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  II.  25v).  The  French  writers  i 
course  say  notliing  of  any  violation  of  faith  on  the  part  of  the  victors 
but  they  admit  that  the  Indians  kept  most  of  the  prisoners.  Scarctljj 
was  the  fort  taken,  when  four  English  vessels  appeared  in  the  liarboi] 
too  late  to  save  it.  Willis,  in  his  Ilistory  of  Portland  (ed.  1865),  gives; 
map  of  Fort  Loyal  and  the  neighboring  country.  In  the  Massacluisetd 
archives  is  a  letter  from  Davis,  written  a  few  days  before  the  attaci^ 
complaining  that  his  fort  is  in  wretched  condition. 

*  I  am  unabl3  to  discover  the  foundation  of  this  last  charge. 


1«50.| 


THE  CANADIANS  ENCOURAGICD. 


233 


observes  the  captive  Puritan,  "  that  there  was  a 
popish  design  against  the  Protestant  interest  in 
s^aw  England  as  in  otlier  parts  of  the  world."  lie 
told  Fruntcnac  of  the  pledge  given  by  his  con- 
queror, and  the  violation  of  it.  "  We  were  promised 
good  quarter,"  he  rej)orts  himself  to  have  said, 
"and  a  guard  to  conduct  us  to  our  English  ;  but 
DOW  we  are  made  captives  and  slaves  in  the  hands 
i  of  the  heathen.  1  thought  I  had  to  do  with  Chris- 
[tians  that  would  have  been  careful  of  their  engage- 
ments, and  not  to  violate  and  break  their  oaths. 
Whereupon  the  governour  shaked  his  head,  and,  as 
I  was  told,  was  very  angry  with  Burniffe  {Port- 

Frontcnac  was  pleased  with  his  prisoner,  whom 
Ite  calls  a  honhomme.  lie  told  him  in  broken  Eng- 
bto  take  courage,  and  pj-om/sed  him  good  treat- 
Iment;  to  which  DaviS  replied  that  his  chief  con- 
cern was  not  for  himself,  but  for  the  captives  in  the 
bnds  of  the  Indians.  Some  of  these  were  after- 
wards ransomed  by  the  French,  and  treated  with 
inch  kindness,  as  was  also  Davis  himself,  to  whom 
|[he  count  gave  lodging  in  the  chateau. 

The  triumphant  success  of  his  three  war-parties 
produced  on  the  Canadian  people  all  the  effect 
[hat  Frontenac  had  expected.  This  effect  was 
kry  apparent,  even  before  the  last  two  victories 
m  hecome  known.  ^'  You  cannot  believe,  Mon- 
?igneur,"  wrote  the  governor,  speaking  of  the 
[apture  of  Schenectady,  "  the  joy  that  this  slight 
access  has  caused,  and  how  much  it  contributes 

raise  the  people  from  their  dejection  and  terror." 


i  I 


234 


THE  THREE   WAR-l'ARTIES. 


I  I 


One  untoward  accident  damped  the  general  jovl 
for  a  moment.    A  party  of  Iroquois  Christians  fronj 
the  Saut  St.  Louis  had   made  a  raid  against  thel 
Enghsli  borders,  and  were  returning  with  prisoners.! 
One  evening,  as  they  were  praying  at  their  cuiiinl 
near  Lake  Champhiin,  they  were  discovered  bv  J 
band  of  Algonquins  and  Abenakis  who  were  out 
on  a  similar  errand,  and  who,  mistaking  them  tori 
enemies,  set  upon  them  and  killed  several  of  tli(ir| 
number,  among  whom  was  Kryn,  the  groat  Mt 
hawk,  chief  of  the  mission  of  the  Saut.     This  misH 
hap  was  near  causing  a  rupture  between  the  best 
Indian  allies  of  the  colony  ;  but  the  difference  wa 
at  length  happily  adjusted,  and  the  relatives  of  the 
slain  propitiated  by  gifts.^ 


1  The  attacking  party  consisted  of  some  of  the  Abenakis  and  Algoa 
quins  who  had  been  with  Hcrtel,  and  who  had  left  the  main  l)0(l}'  afie 
the  destruction  of  Salmon  Falls.  Several  of  them  were  killed  in  th 
skirmish,  and  among  the  rest  their  chief,  Hopehood,  or  Woliawa, "  tin 
memorable  tygre."  as  Cotton  Mather  calls  him. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


1690. 


MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS  QUEBEC. 
iiousn  Schemes.  —  Captdrb  of  Port  Royal.  —  Acadia  reducbo. 

-CO.NDUCT  OF   PlIII'8. —  IIlS    II18TORT  AND  CHARACTER.  —  BoSTOR 

15  Arms.  —  A  Puritan  Crusade.  —  The  March  from  Aldant. — 
Frostknac  and  the  Council.  —  Frontenac  at  Montreal. — 
His  War  Dance.  —  An  Abortive  Expedition.  —  An  English 
Raid.— Frontenac  at  Quebec.  —  Defences  of  the  Town. — 
The  Enemy  arrives. 

When  Frontenac  sent  his  war-parties  against 
k'ew  York  and  New  England,  it  was  in  the  hope 
|ot  only  of  reanimating  the  Canadians,  but  also  of 
caching  the  Iroquois  that  they  could  not  safely 
ely  on  English  aid,  and  of  inciting  the  Abenakis 

renew  their  attacks  on  the  border  settlements. 
h  imagined,  too,  that  the  British  colonies  could 
[e  chastised  into  prudence  and  taught  a  policy  of 
onciliation  towards  their  Canadian  neighbors ;  but 
|e  mistook  the  character  of  these  bold  and  vigor- 
jus  though  not  martial  communities.     The  plan  of 

combined  attack  on  Canada  seems  to  have  been 
[rst  proposed  by  the  Iroquois  ;  and  New  York  and 
lie  several  governments  of  New  England,  smart- 
jig  under  French  and  Indian  attacks,  hastened  to 
ibrace  it.  Early  in  May,  a  congress  of  their 
elegates  was  held  in  the  city  of  New  York.     It 


236 


MASSACHUSETTS   ATTACKS   QUEBEC. 


[ICliU. 


was  agreed  that  the  colony  of  that  name  should 
furnish  four  hundred  men,  and  Massachusetts 
Plymouth,  and  Connecticut  three  hundred  and 
fifty-five  jointly;  while  the  Iroquois  afterwards 
added  their  worthless  pledge  to  join  the  expedi-l 
tion  with  nearly  all  their  warriors.  The  colonial 
milita  were  to  rendezvous  at  Albany,  and  thence  I 
advance  upon  Montreal  by  way  of  Lake  Champlaln, 
Mutual  jealousies  made  it  difficult  to  agree  upon  a 
commander ;  but  Fitz-John  Winthrop  of  Connecti- 
cut was  at  length  placed  at  the  head  of  the  feeble  i 
and  discordant  band. 

While  Montreal  was  thus  assailed  by  land,  Massa- 
chusetts and  the  other  New  England  colonies  were! 
invited  to  attack  Quebec  by  sea ;  a  task  formidable 
in  difficulty  and  in  cost,  and  one  that  imposed  on 
them  an  inordinate  share  in  the  burden  of  tliel 
war.  Massachusetts  hesitated.  She  had  nomonev, 
and  she  was  already  en5aiLi;ed  in  a  less  remote  and 
less  critical  enterprise.  During  the  winter,  lierl 
commerce  had  suffered  from  French  cruisers,  wiiicli| 
found  convenient  harborage  at  Port  Royal,  whencej 
also  the  hostile  Indians  were  believed  to  draw  supj 
plies.  Seven  vessels,  with  two  hundred  and  eightv- 
eight  sailors,  were  impressed,  and  from  four  to  fivel 
hundred  militia-men  were  drafted  for  the  service] 
That  rugged  son  of  New  England,  Sir  William  Pliip>J 
was  appointed  to  the  command.  He  sailed  froiii 
Nantask^t  at  thp  end  of  April,  reached  Port  Roy;i| 

*  Summary  of  Muster  Roll,  appended  to  A  Journal  of  the  Exped'dk 
Jrom  Boston  against  Port  Roijal,  among  the  papers  of  George  Chalmers i 
the  Library    ^  Harvard  College. 


50.  [m,  ■  1690.] 


ATTACK  ON  PORT  ROYAL. 


237 


on  the  eleventh  of  May,  landed  his  militia,  and 

summoned  Meneval,  the  governor,  to  surrender. 

The  fort,   though   garrisoned    bv   about   seventy 

solfiiers,   was   scarcely   \n   condition    to   repel   an 

a.^.^iult;  and  Meneval  yielded  without  resistance, 

first  stipulating,    according   to   French    accounts, 

that  private   property  should    be   respected,   the 

church  left   untouched,  and   the    troops   sent   to 

Quebec  or  to  France.'     It  was  found,  however, 

that  during  the  parley  a  quantity  of  goods,  be- 

longiiV;,^  partly  to  the  king  and  partl}^  to  merchants 

of  the  place,   had   been  carried  off   and   hidden 

in  the  woods.^      Phips  thought  this  a  sufficient 

pretext  for  plundering  the  merchants,  imprisoning 

the  troops,  and   desecrating   the    church.     "  We 

;cut  clown  the  cross,"  writes  one  of  his  followers, 

'rifled  their  church,  pulled  down  their  high  altar, 

nd  broke  their  images."  ^     The  houses  of  the  two 

nests  were  also  pillaged.     The  people  were  prom- 

sed  security  to   life,   liberty,    and   property,   on 

ondition  of  swearing  allegiance  to  King  William 

nd  Queen  Mary ;  "  which,"  says  the  journalist, 

they  did  with  great  acclamation,"  and  thereupon 

ey  were  left  unmolested.''     The  law^ful  portion 

1  Rehtion  de  la  Prise  da  Port  Roijal  par  les  Arujlois  de  Boston,  pikce 
fomjme,  27  Mai,  1690. 
■  Journal  of  the  Expedition  from  Boston  against  Port  Royal. 

3  IbiiL 

*  Rihttion  de  Monseignat.  Nevertheless,  a  consitlerable  number  seem 
I  have  refused  the  oath,  and  to  have  been  piUaged.  Tlie  Relation  de  la 
^'tse  du  Port  Royal  par  les  Anglois  de  Boston,  written  on  the  spot  imnie- 

P'^toly  after  the  event,  says  that,  except  tliat  nobody  was  killed,  the 
ace  was  treated  as  if  taken  by  assault.     Meneval  also  says  that  the 

^liabitaiits  were  pillaged.  Meneval  au  Mini  '>• '  29  ^f<li,  1G90  ;  also  Rap- 
w  (k  (Jhaiimqnii ,  Oct.,  1G90.     Meneval  describes  the  New  England  men 


238 


MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS  QUEBEC. 


[Ifl 


of  the  booty  include^l  twenty-one  pieces  of  ca 
non,  with  a  considerable  sum  of   money  belon 
ing   to   the    king.      The    smaller   articles,  man' 
of    which   were    taken   from    the  merchunts  a 
from  such  of    the   settlers   as   refused   the  oat 
were   packed    in   hogsheads   and    sent  on  boa 
the  ships.     Phips  took  no  measures  to  secure 
conquest,  though  he  commissioned  a  president  a: 
six  councillors,  chosen  from   the   inhabitants, 
govern  the  settlement  till  farther  orders  from  t 
crown  or  from  the  authorities  of  Massachuset 
The  president  was  directed  to  constrain  nobodj 
the  matter  of  religion ;  and  he  was  assured  of  pn 
tection  and  support  so  long  as  he  remained  '^  fi 
ful  to  our  government,"  that  is,  the  governme 
of   Massachusetts.^     The   little   Puritan  commo 
wealth  already  gave  itself  airs  of  sovereignty. 
Phips  now  sent  Captain  Alden,  who  had  alread; 
taken  possession  of  Saint- Cas tin's  post  at  Peno! 
scot,  to  seize   upon   La   Heve,  Chedabucto,  am 
other  stations  on  the  southern  coast.     Then,  aft 
providing  for  the  reduction  of  the  settlements 
the  head  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  he  sailed,  Avi 
the  rest  of  the  fleet,  for  Boston,  where  he  arrivei 
triumphant  on  the  thirtieth  of  May,  bringing  witi 
him,  as  prisoners,  the  French  governor,  fifty-nini 
soldiers,  and  the  two  priests.  Petit  and  Trouvi 
Massachusetts  had  made  an  easy  conquest  of 
Acadia ;  a  conquest,  however,  which  she  had  neitln 


as  excessively  irritated  at  the  late  slaughter  of  settlers  at  Salmon  Fai 
and  elsewhere. 

1  Journal  of  the  Expedition,  etc. 


CONDUCT  OF  PHIPS. 


239 


the  men  nor  the  money  to  secure   by  sufficient 
garrisons. 

The  conduct  of  the  New  England  commander 
|in  this  affair  does  him  no  credit.     It  is  true  that 
no  blood  was  spilt,  and  no  revenge  taken  for  the 
repeated  butcheries  of  unoffending  and  defenceless 
hettlers.     It  is  true,  also,  that  the  French  appear  to 
have  acted  in  bad  faith.     But  Phips,  on  tlie  other 
knd,  displayed  a   scandalous  rapacity.      Charle- 
voix says  that  he  robbed  Meneval  of  all  his  money ; 
but  Meneval  himself  affirms  that  he  gave  it  to  the 
English  commander   for  safe   keeping,  and   that 
Phips  and  his  wife  would  return  neither  the  money 
nor  various  other  articles  belonging  to  the  captive 
Igovernor,   whereof    the   following   are    specified: 
X  silver  spoons,  six  silver  forks,  one  silver  cup 
|in  the  shape  of  a  gondola,  a  pair  of  pistols,  three 
Inew  wigs,  a  gray  vest,  four  pair  of  silk  garters, 
[two  dozen  of  shirts,  six  vests  of  dimity,  four  night- 
aps  with  lace  edgings,  all  my  table  service  of  fine 
[tin,  all  my  kitchen  linen,"  and  many  other  items 
Fhich  give   an   amusing   insight   into   MenevaFs 
busekeeping.^ 

'  An  Account  of  the  Silver  and  Effects  which  Mr.  Phips  keeps  back  from 
\Ur.  Meneval,  in  3  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  I.  115. 

Monseignat  and  La  Potherie  describe  briefly  this  expedition  against 
Port  Royal.  In  the  archives  of  Massachusetts  are  various  papers  con- 
terning  it,  among  which  are  Governor  Bradstreet's  instructions  to 
Pliips,  and  a  complete  invoice  of  the  plunder.  Extracts  will  be  found 
[in  Professor  Bowen's  Life  of  Phips,  in  Sparks's  American  Biography,  Vll, 
There  is  also  an  order  of  council,  "  Whereas  the  French  soldiers  lately 
brought  to  this  place  from  Port  Royal  did  surrender  on  capitulation,"  they 
^hall  be  set  at  liberty.  Meneval,  Lettre  aii  Ministre,  29  Mai,  1690,  saye 
hilt  there  was  a  capitulation,  and  that  Phips  broke  it.  Perrot,  former 
lovernor  of  Acadia,  accuses  both  Meneval  and  the  priest  Petit  of  being 


240 


MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS   QUEBEC. 


[169 


Meneval,  with  the  two  priests,  wils^ confined  ii 
a  house  at  Boston,  under  guard.  He  says  tliat  h 
petitioned  the  governor  and  council  for  reilress 
"  but,  as  they  have  little  authority  and  stand  ii 
fear  of  Phips,  who  is  supported  by  the  rabble,  to 
which  he  himself  once  belonged,  and  of  wbleli  h^ 
is  now  the  chief,  they  would  do  nothing  for  me."' 
This  statement  of  Meneval  is  not  quite  correct :  ioi 
an  order  of  the  council  is  on  record,  requiring  PbipJ 
to  restore  his  chest  and  clothes ;  and,  as  the  ordej 
received  no  attention,  Governor  Bradstreet  wrotj 
to  the  refractory  commander  a  note,  enjoining  \m 
to  obey  it  at  once.^  Phips  thereupon  gave  iiii 
some  of  the  money  and  the  worst  part  of  the  clotlij 
iiig,  still  keeping  the  rest.^  After  long  delay,  tlij 
council  released  Meneval :  upon  which,  Phips  aii| 
the  populace  whom  he  controlled  demanded  tliaj 
he  should  be  again  imprisoned ;  but  the  '•  boue^ 
people"  of  the  town  took  his  part,  his  persecutoj 
was  forced  to  desist,  and  he  set  sail  covertly  foj 
France.**  This,  at  least,  is  his  own  account  of  tlij 
affair. 

As  Phips  was  to  play  a  conspicuous  part  in  tlij 
events  that  immediately  followed,  some  notice 

in  collusion  with  the  English.     Perrot  a  de  Chevry,  2  Juin,  1090.  T!J 
same  charge  is  made  as  regards  Petit  in  Md'moire  sur  I'Acadie,  IGl'l. 

Charlevoix's  account  of  this  affair  is  inaccurate.  He  ascribes  I 
Phipa  acts  which  took  place  weeks  after  his  return,  such  as  the  capt'Ji 
of  Chedabucto. 

1  M€moire  pr^scnf^  a  M.  de  Ponchartrain  par  M.  de  Meneval,^ Av 
1691. 

2  This  note,  dated  7  Jan.,  1691,  is  cited  by  Bowen  in  his  Life  off\ 
Sparks's  American  Biography,  VII. 

'  M€inoire  de  Meneval. 
*  Ibid. 


EC.       [loooBiaw.] 


SIR   WILLIAM  PHIPS. 


241 


liiiii  will  not  be  amiss.  He  is  said  to  have  been 
lone  of  twenty-six  cliildren,  all  of  the  same  mother, 
and  was  born  in  1650  at  a  rude  border  settlement, 
giiice  culled  Woolwich,  on  the  Kennebec.  His 
parents  were  ignorant  and  poor ;  and  till  eighteen 
fears  of  age  he  was  employed  in  keeping  sheep. 
such  a  life  ill  suited  his  active  and  ambitious 
datiire.  To  better  his  condition,  he  learned  the 
rade  of  ship-carpenter,  and,  in  the  exercise  of  it, 
tiime  to  Boston,  where  he  married  a  widow  with 
omc  property,  beyond  him  in  years,  and  much 
Ibove  him  in  station.     About  this  time,  he  learned 

read  and  write,  though  not  too  well,  for  his  sig- 
nature is  like  that  of  a  peasant.  Still  aspiring  to 
reater  things,  he  promised  his  wife  that  he  would 
ne  day  command  a  king's  ship  and  owai  a  '^  fair 
riek  house  in  the  Green  Lane  of  North  Boston," 
Iquarter  then  occupied  by  citizens  of  the  better 
bs.  He  kept  his  word  at  both  points.  Fortune 
[as  inauspicious  to  him  for  several  years ;  till  at 
aigth,  under  the  pressure  of  reverses,  he  conceived 
[e  idea  of  conquering  fame  and  wealth  at  one 
roke,  by  fishing  up  the  treasure  said  to  be  stored  in 
[Spanish  galleon  wrecked  fifty  years  before  some- 

lere  in  the  West  Indian  seas.  Full  of  this  project, 
I  went  to  England,  where,  through  influences  which 

not  plainly  appear,  he  gained  a  hearing  from 
[rsons  in  high  places,  and  induced  the  admiralty 

adopt  his  scheme.  A  frigate  was  given  him, 
|d  ho  sailed  for  the  West  Indies ;  whence,  after  a 

y^  search,  he  returned  unsuccessful,  though  not 

liout  adventures  which  proved  his  mettle.     It 

16 


242 


MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS  QUEBEC. 


was  the  epoch  of  the  buccaneers  ;  anrl  his  crew,  tireiil 
of  a  vain  and  toilsome  search,  came  to  the  qiiarteri 
deck,  armed  with  cutlasses,  and  demanded  of  their 
captain  that   he   should    turn   pirate  witli   thcmj 
Phips,  a  tall  and  powerful  man,  instantly  fell  upoii 
them  with  his  fists,  knocked  down  the  ringloarlor. 
and  awed  them  all  into  submission.     Not  long  after] 
there  was  a  more  formidable   mutiny;  but,  \vit| 
great  courage  and  address,  he  quelled  it  for  a  timeJ 
and  held  his  crew  to  their  duty  till  he  had  broiifflij 
the  ship  into  Jamaica,  and  exchanged  them  foj 
better  men. 

Though  the  leaky  condition  of  the  frigate  com] 
pelled  him  to  abandon  the  search,  it  was  not  till  iJ 
had  gained  information  which  he  thought  woiil^ 
lead  to  success;  and,  on  his  return,  he  inspireJ 
such  confidence  that  the  Duke  of  Albemarle,  witJ 
other  noblemen  and  gentlemen,  gave  him  a  fresl 
outfit,  and  despatched  him  again  on  his  Qiiixotij 
errand.  This  time  he  succeeded,  found  the  wrecli 
and  took  from  it  gold,  silver,  and  jewels  to  tlii 
value  of  three  hundred  thousand  pounds  sterlina 
The  crew  now  leao;ued  too-ether  to  seize  the  shil 
and  divide  the  prize;  and  Phips,  pushed  to  ej 
tremity,  was  compelled  to  promise  that  ever! 
man  of  them  should  have  a  share  in  the  treasurl 
even  if  he  paid  it  himself.  On  reaching  EnglaiiJ 
he  kept  his  pledge  so  well  that,  after  redeeming  i| 
only  sixteen  thousand  pounds  was  left  as  his  poj 
tion,  which,  however,  was  an  ample  fortune  in  tli 
New  England  of  that  day.  He  gained,  too,  ^y^ 
he  valued  almost  as  much,  the  honor  of  knigli 


m] 


SIR  WILLIAM  rillPS. 


243 


hoofl  Tempting  offers  were  made  hiin  of  employ- 
ment in  the  royal  service  ;  but  he  had  an  ardent 
love  for  his  own  country,  and  thither  he  presently 
returned. 

Pliipn  was  a  rude  sailor,  bluff,  prompt,  and  chol- 
eric. He  never  gave  proof  of  intellectual  capacity  ; 
and  such  of  his  success  in  life  as  he  did  not  owe  to 
good  luck  was  due  probably  to  an  energetic  and 
adventurous  spirit,  aided  by  a  blunt  frankness  of 
address  that  pleased  the  great,  and  commended  him 
to  their  favor.  Two  years  after  the  expedition  to 
Port  Royal,  the  king,  under  the  new  charter,  made 
him  governor  of  Massachusetts,  a  post  for  which, 
though  totally  unfit,  he  had  been  recommended  by 
the  elder  Mather,  who,  like  his  son  Cotton,  expected 
to  make  use  of  him.  Tie  v^arried  liis  old  hab'ts  into 
his  new  office,  cudgelled  Erinton,  the  collector  of 
the  port,  and  belabored  Captain  Short  of  the  royal 
navy  with  his  cane.  Far  from  trying  to  hide  the 
obscurity  of  his  origin,  he  leaned  to  the  opposite 
foible,  and  was  apt  to  boast  of  it,  delighting  to 
exhibit  himself  as  a  self-made  man.  New  England 
I  writers  describe  him  as  honest  in  private  dealings; 
but,  in  accordance  with  his  coarse  nature,  he  seems 
I  to  have  thought  that  any  thing  is  fair  in  war.  On 
the  other  hand,  he  was  warmly  patriotic,  and  was 
almost  as  ready  to  serve  New  England  as  to  serve 
I  himself.* 

When  he  returned  from  Port  Royal,  he  found 


'  An  excellent  account  of  Phips  will  be  found  in  Professor  Bowen's 
Jbiographical  notice,  already  cited.  His  Life  by  Cotton  Mather  is  exces* 
[«ively  eulogistic. 


2U 


MASSACHUSETTS   ATTACKS    QUEBKC. 


1 1090 


Boston  {ilive  with  martial  preparation.  A  bold 
enterprise  was  afoot.  Massachusetts  of  her  own 
motion  had  resolved  to  attempt  the  conqiie>^t  ol 
Quebec.  She  and  her  sister  colonies  had  not  yet 
recovered  from  the  exhaustion  of  Philip'^;  war. 
and  stir  less  '  "oi  \  the  disord'  rs  that  attended  tlie 
expulsior^  ^i'  *^e  royal  governor  and  his  adherents. 
The  puoli  Ue 'f'rn'y  was  empty,  and  the  recent 
expeditions  agains.:  the  eastern  Indians  had  been 
supported  by  private  subscription.  Worse  yet, 
New  England  had  no  comj^etent  mlhtary  eom- 
mander.  The  Puritan  gentlemen  of  the  original 
emigration,  some"  of  whom  w^ere  as  well  fitted  for 
military  as  for  civil  leadership,  had  passed  from 
the  stage  ;  and,  by  a  tendency  which  circumstances 
made  inevitable,  tl  y  had  left  none  behind  them 
equally  qualified.  The  great  Indian  conflict  ofi 
fifteen  years  before  had,  it  is  true,  formed  goofl| 
partisan  chiefs,  and  proved  that  the  New  England  i 
yeoman,  defending  his  family^  and  his  hearth,  was 
not  to  be  surpassed  in  stubborn  fighting  ;  but,  since 
Andros  and  his  soldiers  had  been  driven  out,  there 
w^as  scarcely  a  single  man  in  the  colony  of  tliej 
slightest  training  or  experience  in  regular  war. 
Up  to  this  moment.  New  England  had  never  a>-Kalj 
help  of  the  mother  country.  When  thousands  ofl 
savaires  burst  on  her  defenceless  settlements,  .<iie| 
had  conquered  safety  and  peace  with  her  own 
blood  and  her  own  slender  resources ;  but  now,  asl 
the  proposed  capture  of  Quebec  would  inure  to  tliel 
profit  of  the  British  crown,  Bradstreet  and  liisl 
council  thought  it  not  unfitting  to  ask  for  a  suppM 


im] 


MARTIAL  I'REl'AUA'riON. 


245 


of  arms  and  arnmunition,  of  wliicli  they  were  in 
vat  need.'     The  r"qii<'st  was  refused,  and  no  aid 

any  kind  cpma  from  tlie  English  government, 
n-iiose  reso  ireea  were  en<i:rossed  bv  the  Irish  war. 
While  waiting  for  the  reply,  the  colonial  authori- 
ties iir,L''ed  rn  tlieir  pi'epa rations,  in  the  hope  that 
the  plunder  of  Quebec  would  pay  the  expenses  of 
its  con({uest.  Ilumihty  was  not  among  the  New 
England  virtues,  and  it  was  thoutji-ht  a  sin  to  dr  dH 
that  God  would  give  his  chosen  people  the  victory 
over  papists  and  idolaters ;  yet  no  pains  were  e ;».  J'ed 
10  ensure  the  divine  favor.  A  proclamatiun  '«■  as 
i<<ue(l,  calling  the  people  to  repentance ;  a  'lay  of 
fasting  was  ordained  ;  and,  as  Mather  expresses 
it,  "the  wheel  of  prayer  was  kept  in  continual 
motion."^  The  chief  difficulty  was  to  provide 
funds.  An  attempt  was  made  to  collect  a  part  of 
the  money  by  private  subscription;^  but,  as  this 
plan  failed,  the  provisional  government,  already  in 
debt,  strained  its  credit  yet  farther,  and  borrowed 
jthe  needful  sums.     Thirty-two  trading  and  fishing 

sols,  great  and  small,  wei'o  impressed  for  the 
Nervice.  The  largest  was  a  Anp  called  the  "  Six 
Friends,"  emj^a^-ed  in  the  danuerous  West  India 
trade,  and  carrvin<x  fortv-four  ft'uns.  A  call  was 
made  lor  volunteers,  and  many  enrolled  themselves ; 
Ibut,  as  more  were  wanted,  a  press  was  ordered  to 
[complete  the  number.    So  rigorously  was  it  applied 

'  Bradstreet  and  Council  to  the  Earl  of  Shrewsbury,  29  Mar.,  1690  ;  Dan- 
fyihio  Sir  II.  Ashnrst,  1  April,  IG'JO. 

'  }fnss.  Colonial  Records,  12  Mar.,  1690 ;  Mather,  Life  of  Phips. 

^  Proposals  for  an  Expedition  arjainst  Canada,  in  3  Mass.  Hist.  Coll, 

■  119. 


246 


MASSACUUSETTb  ATTACKS   QUEBEC. 


ii<;9« 


that,  what  with  \  oluntaiy  and  eiifuiced  eulihtiuont 
one  town,  that  of  Gloucester,  was  deprived  of  two- 
thirds  of  its  fencible  men.'  There  was  not  a 
moment  of  doubt  as  to  the  choice  of  a  conuuMndir 
for  Phips  was  imagined  to  be  the  very  man  for  tho 
work.  One  John  Walley,  a  respectable  citizen  of 
Barnstable,  was  made  second  in  command  with  the 
modest  rank  of  major ;  and  a  sufficient  number  of 
ship-masters,  merchants,  master  mechanics,  and 
substantial  farmers,  were  connnissioned  as  suboidi- 
nate  otiicers.  About  the  middle  of  July,  the  com- 
mittee charged  with  the  preparations  reported  that 
all  was  ready.  Still  there  was  a  long  delay.  Thu 
vessel  sent  early  in  spring  to  ask  aid  from  England 
had  not  returned.  Phips  waited  for  her  as  long  a.s 
he  dared,  and  the  best  of  the  season  was  over  when 
he  resolved  to  put  to  sea.  The  rustic  warriors, 
duly  formed  into  companies,  were  sent  on  board; 
and  the  fleet  sailed  from  Nantasket  on  the  ninth  of 
August.  Including  sailors,  it  carried  twenty-two  i 
hundred  men,  with  provisions  for  four  months,  hut; 
insufficient  ammunition  and  no  pilot  for  the  St. 
Lawrence.^ 

While  Massachusetts  was  making  ready  to  con- 
quer Quebec  by  sea,  the  militia  of  the  land  expe- 
dition aerainst  Montreal  had  mustered  at  Albany.! 


1  Rev.  John  Emerson  to  Wait  Winthrop,  26  July,  1G90.  Emerson  wajj 
the  minister  of  Gloucester.  He  begs  for  the  release  of  the  iiiipiessedj 
men. 

2  Mather,  Life  of  Phips,  gives  an  account  of  the  outfit.  Compare  the! 
Humble  Address  of  Divers  of  the  Gciitrij,  Merchunts  and  others  inlmlnUnpiA 
Boston,  to  the  Kinifs  Most  Excellent  Majesty.  Two  officers  of  the  expiJi'j 
tion,  Walley  and  Savage,  have  left  accounts  of  it,  as  Phips  would  i!rol>| 
ably  have  done,  had  his  literary  acquirements  been  equal  to  the  task. 


^•J 


J!itu^iil•.^AV.   AJND    THE   COUNCIL. 


Z47 


Hieir  .strength  was  even  less  than  was  at  first 
proposed;  lor,  after  the  disaster  at  Caseo,Massachii- 
jt-tts  iiiul  PI3  inoiith  lijid  reealK'd  their  eontingents 
to  ilt'iV'iid  their  frontiers.  The  rest,  deeinuited 
bv  dysentery  and  sniall-pox,  began  their  march  to 
I;ike  Clianiphiin,  with  bands  of  Moliawk,  Oneida, 
anil  Moliegan  alhes.     The  western  Iroquois  were 

join  them  at  the  hdve,  and  tlie  combined  force 
was  then  to  attack  the  head  of  the  colony,  while 
Ipliips  struck  at  its  heart. 

Frontenac  was  at  Quebec  during  most  of  the 
I  winter  and  the  early  spring.  When  he  had  de- 
spatched the  three  war-parties,  whose  hardy  but 
iiiiinlerous  exploits  were  to  bring  this  double  storm 
upon  liiiu,  he  had  an  interval  of  leisure,  of  which 
Ik  made  a  characteristic  use.  The  English  and 
|tlie  Iroquois  were  not  his  only  enemies,  lie  had 
opponents  within  as  well  as  without,  and  he  counted 
as  among  them  most  of  the  members  of  the 
^upreiiie  council.  Here  was  the  bishop,  repre- 
?nting  that  clerical  power  which  had  clashed  so 
often  with  the  civil  rule  ;  here  was  that  ally  of 
iie  Jesuits,  the  intendant  Champigny,  who,  wdien 
Frontenac  arrived,  had  written  mournfully  to  Ver- 
|ailles  that  he  would  do  his  best  to  live  at  peace 
fiili  him ;  here  were  Villeray  and  Auteuil,  whom 
lie  governor  had  once  banished,  Damours,  whom  he 
[ad  inq)risoned,  and  others  scarcely  more  agreeable 

liini.  They  and  their  clerical  friends  had  con- 
3ired  for  his  recall  seven  or  eight  years  before ; 
iey  had  clung  to  Denonville,  that  faithful  son  of 
^e  Churchj  in  spite  of  all  his  failures  ;  and  they  had 


248 


MASSACHUSETTS    ATTACKS    QUKFJKC. 


seen  with  iroiihled  minds  the  return  of  K'\u[r  Ston 
in  the  person  of  the  liaii;j,-lity  nnd  inisclhlu  count 
lie  on   his  njirt  felt  his  ])o\v('r.     Tlic  counlrvMy-ij 
in  deadly  need  of  him,  and  looked  to  him  forsiilviv 
tion  ;  while  the  king  had  sliown  him  such  in;uks 
favor,   that,  for  the  moment  at  least,  his  eiiciim 
must  hold  their  peace.     Now,  therefore,  was  thj 
time    to    teach    them    that   he  was   their   iimstcr 
Whether  trivial  or  important  the  occasion  luMtlcivi 
little.   What  he  wanted  was  a  contlict  and  a  vlcton 
or  sidjmission  without  a  contlict. 

The  supreme  council  had  held  its  usual  wecklj 
meetings  since  Frontenac's  arrival ;  but  as  yet  1^ 
had  not  taken  his  place  at  the  hoard,  thoiiuii  ij 
presence  was  needed.  Auteuil,  the  attorney -irci 
eral,  was  thereupon  deputed  to  invite  him.  1] 
visited  the  count  at  his  apartment  in  the  cliateaj 
but  could  get  from  him  no  answer,  except  tliattl 
council  was  able  to  man.Mgo  its  own  business,  ar 
that  he  would  come  when  the  king's  service  sliuii| 
require  it.  The  councillors  divined  that  he  w! 
waiting  for  some  assurance  that  they  w^ould  rccii 
him  with  befittiniir  ceremonv ;  and,  after  debatiiiiitl 
question,  they  voted  to  send  four  of  their  niimljj 
to  repeat  the  invitation,  and  beg  the  governor  to  sJ 
■what  form  of  reception  would  be  agreeable  to  liiij 
Frontenac  answered  that  it  was  for  them  to  pr 
pose  the  form,  and  that,  when  they  did  so. 
would  take  the  subject  into  consideration.  Tl| 
deputies  returned,  and  there  was  another  debal 
A  ceremony  w^as  devised,  which  it  was  thoiigl 
must  needs  be  acceptable  to  the  count  3  and  il 


5.1 


FUONTKNAO  AND  THE   COUNCIL. 


249 


grst  councillor,  Villoniy,  ropjiircd  to  the  chriteaii  to 
jiibniit  it  to  him.  After  making  him  an  harangue 
of  complimont,  and  protesting  the  anxiety  of  him- 
jelf  Tii'l  his  collcagut^s  to  receive  him  with  all 
po<si')l('  honor,  ]w  explained  the  plan,  Jind  assured 
Froiitcuac  that,  if  not  wholly  satisfactory,  it  should 
bec'liaiiged  to  suit  his  pleasure.  ''  To  which,"  says 
the  record,  "  Monsieur  the  governor  only  answered 
that  the  council  could  consult  the  hishop  and  other 
persons  acquainted  with  such  matters."  The  bishop 
\v;is  consulted,  but  pleaded  ignorance.  Another 
debate  followed;  and  the  first  councillor  was  au:ain 
(le^piitched  to  the  chateau,  with  [)roposals  still  more 
deferential  than  the  last,  and  full  power  to  yield, 
'n  addition,  whatever  the  li-ovcu-nor  miii:ht  desire, 
frontcnac  replied  that,  though  they  had  made  propo- 
sals for  his  reception  when  he  should  present  himself 
at  the  council  for  the  first  time,  they  had  not  informed 
him  what  ceremony  they  meant  to  observe  when 
he  should  come  to  the  subsequent  sessions.  This 
point  also  having  been  thoroughly  debated,  Villeray 
went  again  to  the  count,  and  with  great  deference 
llaid  I)efore  him  the  following  plan  :  That,  wdienever 
lit  should  be  his  pleasure  to  make  his  first  visit  to 
the  council,  four  )f  its  number  should  repair  to 
jtlie  chateau,  and  accompany  him,  with  every  mark 
of  honor,  to  the  palace  of  the  intendant,  where  the 
sessions  w^ere  held;  and  that,  on  his  subsequent 
^'isits,  two  councillors  should  meet  him  at  the  head 
[)f  the  stairs,  and  conduct  him  to  his  seat.  The 
envoy  farther  protested  that,  if  this  failed  to  meet 
is  approval,  the  council  w^ould  conform  itself   to 


250 


MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS  QUEBEC. 


[K% 


all  his  wishes  on  the  subject.  Frontcnac  now  de- 
manded  to  see  the  register  in  which  the  proceed 
ings  on  the  question  at  issue  were  recorded 
Villeray  was  directed  to  carry  it  to  him.  The 
records  had  been  ciiutiously  made ;  and,  after 
studying  them  carefully,  he  could  find  nothing  at 
which  to  cavil. 

He  received  the  next  deputation  with  iri-eat 
affability,  told  them  that  he  was  glad  to  find  that 
the  council  had  not  forgotten  the  consideration  due 
to  his  office  and  his  person,  and  assured  them,  uitlj 
urbane  irony,  that,  had  they  offered  to  accord  him 
marks  of  distinction  greater  than  they  felt  were 
due,  he  would  not  have  permitted  them  thus  to 
compromise  their  dignity,  having  too  much  regard 
for  the  honor  of  a  body  of  which  he  himself  was 
the  head.  Then,  after  thanking  them  collectivelv 
and  severally,  he  graciously  dismissed  them,  saying 
that  he  would  come  to  the  council  after  Easter,  or 
in  about  two  months.^  During  four  succe^.^ive 
Mondays,  he  had  forced  the  chief  dignitaries  of  the 
colony  to  march  in  deputations  up  and  do^vn  tlie 
rugged  road  from  the  intendant's  palace   to  tlie 


1  "  M.  le  Gouvernciu*  luy  a  rc'pondii  qu'il  Jivnit  rceonnu  avoc  plaisirc 
la  Compagiiie  (!e  Conseil)  conservoit  la  consideration  qu'elle  avoir  pourl 
Bon  caractore  et  pour  sa  personne,  et  qu'elle  pouvoit  bien  s'assurer  qu'eiH 
core  qu'elle  luy  eust  fait  dcs  propositions  au  dela  de  ce  qu'elle  auroitcraj 
devoir  t'aire  pour  sa  rereptioii  au  Conseil,  il  ne  les  auroil  \r,\s  acci^p'.it.d 
riionneur  de  la  Conipaynie  luy  estaut  d'autaut  plus  considcralile,  qii'mj 
estant  le  chef,  il  n'auroit  rien  voulu  souffrir  qui  peust  estre  conlraiieiuij 
dignite."  l>(';jis(re  da  Conseil  Souverain,  stance  da  13  Mars,  IG'jO.  Tiisj 
affair  had  occupied  the  preceding  sessions  of  20  and  27  Februiuy  aiiJfil 
March.  The  submission  of  the  councillors  did  not  prevent  them  I'roiii  cuohj 
plaining  to  the  minister.  Chaiiipujnij  au  Minislre,  10  Mai,  IG'Jl ;  J7t'/A(/ilJ 
instrudif  sur  le  Canada,  IGUl. 


[K% 


PRECAUTIOISS  OF  FRONTENAC. 


251 


c  now  (le- 
e  proceed 
recorded 
hini.     The 
and,   after 
nothing  at 

^vitli    irreat 
Lo  find  that 
oration  due 
tlioni,  with 
accord  him 
y  felt  were 
em  tluis  to 
lucli  regard 
lihnseli;  was 
collectivelv 
hem,  saying j 
r  Easter,  or 
succe!^^ive 
taries  of  the 
d  clown  the 
lace   to  the] 


in  avocplaisirquej 
\i'cUe  avoit  pourj 
n  s'assurer  (lu'en-j 
(ju'elle  auroit  orij 
oil  pas  aci:i-p;iHr 
)n>i(leral.!o,qiuii| 
ire  contraireasjj 
Mars,  IG'JO.  Tliel 
7  February  iiuJSl 
It  theinfioiiicoffl'l 
,/,  IG'Jl;  Mc'im 


icbmber  of  the  chateau  where  he  sat  in  solitary 
jUte.    A   disinterested    spectator  might   see   the 
buinor  of  the  situation  ;  but  the  council  felt  only 
[its  vexations.     Frontenac  had   gained  his  point : 
lie  enemy  had   surrendered  imconditionally. 
Having  settled  this  important  matter  to  his  satis- 
acnon,  he  again  addressed  himself  to  saving  the 
^oiintiy.      During  the  winter,  he   had  employed 
tranirs  of  men  in  cuttinfi:  timber  in  the  forests,  liew- 
pi  it  into  palisades,  and   dragging  it  to  Quebec. 
)i;Uiire  had  fortified  the  Upper  To\vn  on  two  sides 
|)V  cliffs  almost  inaccessible,  but  it  was  open  to 
Ittack  in  the  rear ;  and  Frontenac,  with  a  happy 
jiri'vi.sion   of   approaching    danger,  gave  his    first 
blights  to  strengthening  this,  its  only  weak  side. 
the  work  began  as  soon  as  the  frost  was  out  of 
k  ground,  and   before   midsummer  it  was  well 
Ivaiiced.     At  the  same  time,  he  took  every  pre- 
aution  for  the  safety  of  the  settlements  in  the 
jpper  parts  of  the  colony,  stationed  detachments 
regulars  at  the  stockade  forts,  which  Denonville 
1(1  built  in  all   the  parishes  above  Three  liivers, 
1(1  kept  strong  scouting  parties  in  continual  move- 
ment in  all  tiie  quarters  most  exposed  to  attack. 
ruops  were  detailed  to  guard  the  settlers  at  their 
|ork  in  the  fields,  and  officers  and  men  were  en- 
lined  to  use  the  utmost  vigilance.     Nevertheless, 
p  Iroquois  war-parties  broke  in  at  various  points, 
[irning  and  butchering,  and  spreading  such  terror 
(at  in  some  districts  the  fields  were  left  untilled 
1(1  the  prospects  of  the  iiarvest  ruined. 
Towards  the  end  of  July,  Frontenac  left  Major 


252 


MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS  QUEBEC. 


[m\ 


Prevost  to  finish  the  fortifications,  and,  with  th« 
intenclant  Champigny,  went  up  to  Montreal,  tlig 
chief    point    of     clanger.     Here     he    arrived    q^ 
the  thirty-first ;   and,  a  few  days  after,  the  ofli( . 
commanding  the  fort  at  La  Chine  sent  him  a  iikwJ 
senger  in  hot   haste  with  tlie  starthng  news  tha 
Lake  St.  Louis  was  "all   covered  with  canoes."" 
Nobody  doubted  that  the  Iroquois  were  upon  tliei 
again.     Cannon  wxre  fired  to  call  in   the  troonJ 
from   t-he  detached    posts ;  when   alarm   was  suij] 
denly  tirned  to  joy  by  the  arrival  of  other  messonj 
gers  to   announce  thai  the  new  comers  were  iiol 
enemies,  but  friends.     They  w^ere  the  Indians  oj 
the  uj)per  hikes  descending  from  Michilliniackina^ 
to  trade  at  MontreaL     Nothing  so  auspicious  liaj 
happened  since  Frontenac's  return.     The  message^ 
he  had  sent  them  in  the  spring  by  Louvigny  anii 
Perrot,  reinforced  by  the  new%s  of  the  victory  on 
the  Ottawa  and  the  capture  of  Schenectady,  had 
had  the  desired  effect ;  and  the  Iroquois  prisonej 
whom  their  missionary  had  persuaded  them  to  tor 
ture  had  not  been  sacrificed  in  vain.     Despairiiii 
of  an  EngUsh  market  for  their  beaver  skins,  tliej 
had  come  as  of  old  to  seek  one  from  the  French, 
On  the  next  day,  they  all  came  down  the  rapid: 
and  landed  near  the  town.     There  were  fully  iivj 
hundred  of  them,  Ilurous,  Ottawas,  Ojibwas,  PottJ 
w^atamies,  Crees,  and  Nipissings,  with   a  IhukIri 
and  ten  canoes  laden  with  beaver  skins  to  the  valu| 
of  nearly  a  hundred   thou.jand  crowns.     Noimv^ 

'  "  Que  le  lac  estoit  tout  couvert  dv  canuts  "     Frontenac  au  ilm^\ 
9  et  12  Nov.,  1690. 


FROXTENAC    AND   HIS   ALLIES. 


253 


Ljiall;  for,  a  few  days  after,  La  Durantaye,  late 
coiiunancler  at  Micliillhnackinac,  arrived  with  fifty- 
five  more  canoes,  manned  by  French  traders,  and 
filled  with  valuable  furs.  The  stream  of  wealth 
lilaiiimed  back  so  long  w\as  flowing  upon  the  colony 
j)ttlie  moment  when  it  was  most  needed.  Never 
y  Canada  known  a  more  prosperous  trade  than 
Lw  ill  the  midst  of  her  danger  and  tribulation. 
[itwas  a  triumph  for  Frontenac.  If  his  policy  had 
pailed  with  the  Iroquois,  it  had  found  a  crowning 
iccess  am.ong  the  tribes  of  the  lakes. 

Having  painted,  greased,  and  bcfeathered  them- 

Ifelves,  the  Indians  mustered  for  the  grand  council 

diidi  always  preceded  the  opening  of  the  market. 

[he  Ottawa  orator  spoke  of  nothing  but  trade,  and, 

kith  a  regretful  memory  of  tie  cheapness  of  Eng- 

m  goods,  begged  that  the  French  would  sell  them 

it  the  same    rate.     The    Huron    touched    upon 

pities  and  war,  declaring  that  he  and  his  people 

y  come  to  visit  their  old  father  and  listen  to  his 

foice,  being   w^ell   assured   that   he  woidd   never 

bandon  them,  as  others  "had  done,  nor  fool  away 

lis  time,  like  Denonville,  in  shameful  negotiations 

or  peace  ;  and  he  exhorted  Frontenac  to  light,  not 

b  English  only,  but  the  Iroquois  also,  till  they 

fere  brought  to  reason.     ^^  If  this  is  not  done,"  he 

iifl,  "  my  father   and   I  shall  both   perish  ;    but, 

311)0  what  may,  we  will  perish  together."  '     ''  I 

swercd,"  writes  Frontenac,  ^'  that  I  would  fight 
le  Iroquois    till    they  came    to   beg   for   peace, 

'  Li  Potlierie,  III.  94  ;  Monseit;n;it,  Relation  ;  Frontenac  au  Muilstre 
\t'  12  Nov.,  1G90. 


...lilj 


254 


MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS  QUEBEC. 


(W 


and  that  I  would  grant  them  no  peace  thai  did  nc 
include  all  my  children,  both  white  and  red,  for 
was  the  father  of  both  alike." 

Now  ensued  a  cnrious  scene.     Frontenac  tooki 
hatchet,  brandished  it  in  the  air  and  sang  the  Mai 
song.     The  principal  Frenchmen  present  followi 
his  example.     The  Christian  Iroquois  of  the  t\^ 
neighboring  missions  rose  and  joined  them,  aiif] 
also  did  the  Ilurons  and  the  Algonquins  of  Lake 
pissing,  stamping  and  screeching  like  a  troop 
madmen  ;  while  the  governor  led  the  dance,  wliooii 
ing  like  the  rest.     His   predecessor  would  lia^ 
perished  rather  than  play  such  a  part  in  such  con 
pany ;  but  the  punctilious  old  courtier  was  himsi 
half  Indian  at  heart,  as  much  at  home  in  awig^ai 
as  in  the  halls  of  princes.    Another  man  would  \m 
lost  respect  in  Indian  cj^es  by  such  a  perforaianc 
In  Frontenac,  it  roused  his  audience  to  cnthusias 
They  snatched  the  proffered  hatchet  and  promisi 
war  'to  the  death.' 

Then  came  a  solemn  war-feast.  Two  oxen  aii 
six  large  dogs  had  been  chopped  to  pieces  for  til 
occasion,  and  boiled  with  a  quantity  of  prunes.  Ti 


1  "  Je  leur  mis  moy-rncsme  la  haclie  Jt  la  main  en  chantant  lachansj 
de  guerro  pour  m'act'()mnioderaieursfa9ons  de  faire."  Frontenac aii\ 
vstre,  9  et  12  Nor.,  1600. 

"  Monsieur  de  Frontenac  commen«;a  la  Chanson  de  guerre,  la  Hioj 
.'.  la  main,  les  principaux  Chefs  dcs  Fran(;ois  se  joignant  a  luy  avecj 
pareillcs  armcs,  la  chanterent  cnscnible.  Les  Iroquois  du  Sautetdej 
>'oi?tagne,  leF  Hurons  et  les  Nipisir/niens  donnerent  encore  le  brani 
'.'o  1  eut  dii,  Monsieur,  que  ces  Acteurs  etoient  des  possed^z  pari 
gCvStes  et  ks  contortions  qu'ils  faisoit  nt.  Les  Sassakouez,  ou  les  cmj 
les  Inirleineiis  que  M^  de  Frontenac  e'toit  oblige  de  faire  pour  secoiilJ 
mci  1  leur  mani^re,  augnientoit  encore  la  fureur  bachique."  I^I 
iherie.  IIL  97 


m] 


ALA  KM   AT   MONTIIEAL. 


255 


biirrel^^  of  wino  with  abundant  tobacco  wore  also 
served  out  to  the  guests,  w^ho  devoured  the  meal 
iiifi  species  of  frenzy.'  All  seemed  eager  for  war 
except  the  Ottawas,  who  had  not  forgotten  their 
late  (Inlliance  with  the  Iroquois.  A  Christian  Mo- 
liawk  of  the  F^aut  St.  Louis  called  them  to  another 
foiincil,  and  demanded  that  thej^  should  explain 
clearly  their  position.  Thus  pushed  to  the  wall, 
tlicv  no  longer  hesitated,  but  promised  like  the 
rest  to  do  all  that  their  father  should  ask. 

Their  sincerity  was   soon   put   to  the  test.     An 
jlrorpiois  convert  called  La  Plaque,  a  notorious  rep- 
jrobate  though  a  good  w\arrior,  had  gone  out  as  a 
scout  in  the  direction  of  Albany.    On  the  day  when 
the  market  opened  and  trade  w\as  in  full  activity, 
the  buyers  and  sellers  were  suddenly  startled  by 
the  sound  of  the  death-yell.     They  snatched  their 
weapons,  and  for  a  moment  all  was  confusion  ;  when 
La  Plaque,  who  had  probably  meant  to  amuse  him- 
self at  their  expense,  made  his  appearance,  and  ox- 
plained  that  the  yells  proceeded  from  him.     '    le 
news  that  he  brought  was,  however,  suffici*    "ly 
alarmino:.     He  declared  that  he  had  been  at  Lake 
St.  Sacrement,  or  Lake  George,  and  had  seen     lere 
la  irreat  number  of  men  makiniii:  canoes  as  ii  about 
[to  advance  on  Montreal.     Frontenac,  thereupon, 
pent  the  Chevalier  de  Clermont  to  scout  as  fir  aa 
[Lake  Champlain.     Clermont  soon  sent  back  one  of 
lis  followers  to  announce  that  he  had  discovered  a 
)arty  of  the  enemy,  and  that  they  w^ere  already  on 
their  way  down  the  Richelieu.    Frontenac  ordered 

i  La  Potherie,  III.  96,  98. 


256 


MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS  QUKBEC. 


[\W 


LI 


I J 
1 


cannon  to  be  fired  to  call  in  the  troops,  crossed  tliel 
St.  Lawrence  followed  by  all  the  Indians,  jind  on- 
camped  with  twelve  hnndred  men  at  La  Prairie  tol 
meet  the   expected   attack.     He  waited    in  vain.! 
All  w\as  qniet,  and  the  Ottawa  sconts  reported  tliatl 
they  conld  find  no  enemy.  Thi'ce  days  passed.  Tliel 
Indians  grew  impatient,  and  wished   to  go  lionio.l 
Neither  English  nor  L^oquois  had  shown  thenisolViK;! 
and  Frontenac,  satisfied   tliat   their  strengtli  liadj 
been  exaggerated,  left  a  small  force  at  La  Prairie  ■ 
recrossed  the  river,  and  distributed  the  troops  ai^^aii 
among  the  neighboring  parishes  to  protect  tlic  liai-- 
vestors.     He  iioav  gave  ample  presents  to  liis  (lo- 
parting  allies,  whose  chiefs  he  had  cntertaiiiiMl  a 
his  own  table,  and  to  whom,  says  Charlevoix,  U 
bade  farewell  ^'  with  those  engaging  manners  whii 
he  kncAV  so  well  how  to  assume  when  he  wanted  ic 
gain  anybody  to  his  interest."    Scarcely  were  tlie 
gone,  when  the  distant  cannon  of  La  Prairie  bounicQ 
a  sudden  alarm. 

The  men  whom  La  Plaque  had  seen  near  Like 
George  were  a  part  of  the  combined  force  of  Cun-I 
necticut  and  New  York,  destined  to  attack  Monti 
real.  They  had  made  their  way  along  Wood  Creel 
to  the  point  where  it  widens  into  Lake  Chaniplain^ 
and  here  they  had  stopped.  Disputes  between  \h 
men  of  the  two  colonies,  intestine  quarrels  in  lU 
New  York  militia,  who  were  divided  between  tW 
two  factions  engendered  by  the  late  revohitionj 
tho  w^ant  of  provisions,  the  w^ant  of  canoes,  and  ik 
ravages  of  small-pox,  had  ruined  an  enterpri? 
which  had  been  mismanaged  from  the  first.   Tliewl 


AN    KNGLISII   RAID. 


lasiio  birch  bark  to  mjikc  more  canoes,  and  owing 
;otlie  lateness  of  tlie  season  the  bark  of  the  elms 
Tould  not  peel.  Such  of  the  Iroquois  as  had  joined 
them  were  cold  and  sullen ;  and  news  came  that 
tlie  three  western  tribes  of  the  confederacy,  terri- 
fied by  the  small-pox,  had  refused  to  move.  It 
was  impossible  to  advance  ;  and  Winthrop,  the 
coiiHiiander,  gave  ordei^s  to  return  to  Albany,  leav- 
^  Phips  to  conquer  Canada  alone.'  l^ut  first, 
that  the  campaign  might  not  seem  wholly  futile, 
he  permitted  Captain  John  Schuyler  to  make  a 
raid  into  Canada  with  a  band  of  volunteers.  Schuv- 
lerlcft  the  camp  at  Wood  Creek  with  twenty-nine 
wliitcs  and  a  hundred  and  twenty  Indians,  passed 
Lake  Champlain,  descended  the  Richelieu  .  Oham- 
blv.  and  fell  suddenlv  on  the  settlement  of  La 
Prairie,  whence  Frontenac  had  just  withdrawn  with 
liis  forces.  Soldiers  and  inhabitants  were  reaping 
in  tlie  wheat-fields.  Schuyler  and  his  followers 
killed  or  captured  twenty-five,  including   several 


On  this  expedition  see  the  Journal  of  Major  General  Winthrop,  in 
fl.  Y.  Vol.  Docs.,  IV.  193 ;  Puhlick  Occurrences,  1G90,  in  Historical  Mai/n- 
RW,  I.2"28;  and  various  documents  in  X.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  727,  70-!,  and 
|n/v  Hist.  N.  y.,  II.  200,288.   Compiirc  La  Potherie,  III.  126,  and  .V.  Y. 

liw's.,  IX,  518.  Tliese  h>st  are  Frencli  statements.  A  Sokoki  In- 
liaiibriiui)iit  to  Canada  a  greatly  exaggerated  aeeount  of  the  English 
lorccs,  luul  said  tliat  disease  had  been  spread  among  thetn  by  bo,xes  of 
pfect'j.l  clotliing,  which  they  themselves  had  i)rovided  in  order  to  poi- 
Cn  the  ranadians.  Bishop  Laval,  Ijttre  du  20  Nov.,  lO'JO,  says  that  there 
Iras  a  (luairel  between  the  English  and  their  Iroquois  allies,  who,  hav- 

lundored  a  magazine  of  spoiled  provisions,  fell  ill,  and  though i  that 
fiey  were  poisoned.  Golden  and  other  English  writers  seem  to  have 
ten  strangely  ignorant  of  this  expedition.  The  Jesuit  Michel  (iermain 
leclares  that  the  force  of  the  English  alone  amounted  to  four  thousand 
til  [llclutiun  de  la  Defaite  des  A>i</lois,  1090).  About  one  tenth  of  this 
piiler  seem  actually  to  have  taken  the  field. 


258 


MASSACHUSETTS   ATTACKS   QUEBEC. 


[icro 


women.  Tie  wisherl  to  attack  the  neigliborini^  fort 
but  his  Indians  refused  ;  and  after  burning  houses, 
barns,  and  hay-ricks,  and  killin<^  a  great  numljcrof 
cattle,  he  seated  himself  with  his  party  at  dinner 
in  the  adjacent  woods,  while  cannon  answered  can- 
non  from  Chambly,  La  Prairie,  and  Montreal,  and 
the  whole  country  was  astir.  "We  thanked  the! 
Governor  of  Canada,"  writes  Schuyler,  "for  hisj 
salute  of  heavy  artillery  during  our  meal." ' 

The  English  had  little  to  boast  in  this  affair,  the  I 
paltry  termination  of   an   enterprise   from  which 
great  things  had  been  expected.     Nor  was  it  for 
their  honor  to  adopt  the  savage  and  cowardly  mode 
of  warfare  in  which  their  enemies  had  led  the  wnv. 
The  blow  that  had  been  struck  was  less  an  injurv 
to  the  French  than  an  insult ;  but,  as  such,  it  gidled 
Frontenac  excessively,  and  he  made  no  mention  of 
it  ia  his  dospatches  to  the  court.    A  few  more  Iro-| 
quois  attacks  nnd  a  few  more  murders  kept  Mont- 
real in  alarm  till  the  tenth  of  October,  when  mattersl 
of  deeper  import  engaged  the  governor's  thoughts. 

A  messenger  arrived  in  haste  at  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  and  gave  him  a  letter  from  PrevostJ 
town  major  of  Quebec.  It  was  to  the  effect  thalj 
an  Abenaki  Indian  had  just  come  over  land  fromj 
Acadia,  with  new^s  that  some  of  his  tribe  had  cap-^ 
tured  an  English  woman  near  Portsmouth,  Avho 
told  them  that  a  great  fleet  had  sailed  from  Bosj 
ton  to  attack  Quebec.  Frontenac,  not  easily  alarmed] 
doubted   the  report.     Nevertheless,  he  embarked 


»  JoHmaJ  of  Capf        John  Schuyler,  in  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  II.  285,    CoH 
,>are  La  Potherie,  II  i        1,  and  Rdation  de  Monseiynat. 


0.] 


APPROACH  OF  PIIIPS. 


?59 


at  once  with  the  intenrlfint  in  a  small  vessel,  which 
proved  to  be  leak}^,  and  was  near  foundering  with 
111!  oil  board.  lie  then  took  a  canoe,  and  towards 
evening  set  out  again  for  Quebec,  ordering  some 
two  hundred  men  to  follow  him.  On  the  next 
(lay,  he  met  another  canoe,  bearing  a  fresh 
message  from  Prevost,  who  announced  that  the 
English  fleet  ht?d  been  seen  in  the  river,  and  that 
It  was  already  above  Tadoussac.  Fronterac  now 
sent  ])ack  Captain  de  Ramsay  with  orders  to  Cal- 
lieres^  governor  of  Montreal,  to  descend  immedi- 
ately to  Quebec  with  all  the  force  at  his  disposal, 
and  to  muster  the  inhabitants  on  the  way.  Then 
lie  pushed  on  with  the  utmost  speed.  The  autum- 
nal storms  had  begun,  and  the  rain  pelted  him  with- 
out ceasing ;  but  on  the  morning  of  the  fourteenth 
he  neared  the  town.  The  rocks  of  Cape  Diamond 
towered  before  him ;  the  St.  Lawrence  lay  beneath 
tliem,  lonely  and  still ;  and  the  Basin  of  Quebec 
outspread  its  broad  bosom,  a  solitude  without  a  sail. 
Frontenac  had  arrived  in  time. 

He  landed  at  the  Lower  Town,  and  the  troops  and 
the  armed  inhabitants  came  crowding  to  meet  him. 
He  was  delighted  at  their  ardor.'  Shouts,  cheers, 
and  the  waving  of  hats  greeted  the  old  man  as  he 
climbed  the  steep  ascent  of  Mountain  Street.  Fear 
and  doubt  seemed  banished  by  his  presence.  Even 
those  who  hated  him  rejoiced  at  his  coming,  and 
hailed  him  as  a  deliverer.  He  went  at  once  to  in- 
spect the  fortifications.  Since  the  alarm  a  week 
before,  Prevost   had    accomplished   wonders,   and 

1  Frontennc  au  Ministre,  9  el  12  Nov.,  1690. 


X  ! 


'^ 


:  -  !■;  I^Mf  flkfl^:  '- 


liGO 


MASSACHUSETTS   ATTACKS   QUKHKC. 


[ItJliO 


not  only  comp'uLud  the  works  begun  in  the  sprii^r 
but  added  others  to  secure  a  place  which  was  a 
natural  fortress  in  itself.  On  two  sides,  the  Upper 
Town  scarcely  needed  defence.  The  cliffs  alone 
the  St.  Lawrence  and  those  ahjng  the  tributary 
river  St.  Charles  had  three  accessilde  points 
guarded  at  the  present  day  by  the  Prescott  Gate, 
the  Hope  Gate,  and  the  Palace  Gate.  Prcvost  had 
secured  them  by  bairicades  of  heavy  ])eains  ami 
casks  filled  with  earth.  A  continuous  line  of  pali- 
sades ran  along  the  strand  of  the  St.  Charles,  from 
the  great  cliff  called  the  Saut  an  Matelot  to  the 
palace  of  the  intendant.  At  this  latter  point  he- 
gan  the  line  of  works  constructed  by  Frontenac  to 
protect  the  rear  of  the  town.  They  consisted  of 
palisades,  strengthened  by  a  ditch  and  an  em- 
bankment, and  flanked  at  frequent  intervals  by 
square  towers  of  stone.  Passing  behind  the  garden 
of  the  Ursulines,  they  extended  to  a  windmill  on  a 
hillock  called  Mt.  Carmel,  and  thence  to  the  brink 
of  the  cliffs  in  front.  Here  there  was  a  battery  of] 
eight  guns  near  the  present  Public  Garden;  two 
more,  each  of  three  guns,  were  planted  at  the  top] 
of  the  Saut  au  Matelot;  another  at  the  barricade j 
of  the  Palace  Gate  ;  and  another  near  the  windmill i 
of  Mt.  Carmel ;  while  a  number  of  light  pieces  were! 
held  in  reserve  for  such  use  as  occasion  miii'bt  re- 
quire.  The  Lower  Town  had  no  defensive  works;! 
but  two  batteries,  each  of  three  guns,  eighteen 
and  twenty-four  pounders,  were  placed  here  at| 
the  eds^e  of  the  river.  ^ 


'   Relation  de  Monseignat ;  Plan  de  Quebec,  par  Villeneuve,  16!)0;  Txda-X 
tion  du  Mercure  Galant,   1691.     The  summit  of  Cape  Diaraoud,  wlii 


0] 


TUE  ENEMY  ARRIVES. 


201 


Two  days  passed  in  completing  these  defences 
under  the  eye  of  the  governor.  Men  were  flock- 
ing in  from  the  parishes  far  and  near;  and  on  tlie 
evening  of  the  fifteenth  abont  twenty-seven  hun- 
drLMl,  reguhirs  and  militiii,  were  gathered  within  the 
fortilications,  besides  the  armed  peasantry  of  Ijeau- 
port  and  Beaupre,  who  were  ordered  to  watch  the 
river  below  the  town,  and  resist  the  English,  should 
they  attempt  to  land.*  At  length,  before  dawn  on 
tlie  morning  of  the  sixteenth,  tlie  sentinc^Js  on  the 
Saut  ail  Matelot  could  descry  the  slowly  moving 
lights  of  distant  vessels.  Ai  daybreak  the  fleet 
was  in  sight.  Sail  after  sail  passed  the  Point  of 
Orleans  and  glided  into  the  Basin  of  Quebec.  The 
excited  spectators  on  the  rock  coimted  thirty-four 
of  them.  Four  were  large  ships,  several  others 
were  of  considerable  size,  and  the  rest  were  brigs, 
scliooners,  and  fishing  craft,  all  thronged  with 
men. 

Mmandcd  the  town,  was  not  fortified  till  three  years  later,  nor  were 
nyguns  placed  here  during  the  English  attack. 
^-  Diay'i  of  Sylvanus  Davis,  prisoner  in  Quebec,  in  Mass.  Uist.  Cot. 
,1.101.  Tliere  is  a  difference  of  ten  days  in  the  French  and  English 
ates,  the  New  Style  having  been  adopted  by  the  former  and  not  by  the 
liter. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


A 


:/. 


"^ 


1.0 


1.1 


1.25 


lUlM    12.5 

150   •^^     H^H 

!!r  ua  12.0 


1.4 


1.8 


—    6" 


<^ 


/2 


c^.       o: 


/a 


7 


HiotDgraphic 

Sdences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y,  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


I/.. 


%o 


^ 


s 


\ 


A 


CHAPTER  Xm. 


1690. 

DEFENCE    OF  QUEBEC. 

Phips  ow  tub  St.  Lawrence.  —  Pmrs  at  Quebec.  —  A  Flag  oj 
Truce.  —  Scene  at  the  Chateau.  —  The  Summons  and  the  As 
8WER. — Plan  of  Attack. — Landing  op  the  English.  — Tuk 
Cannonade.  —  The    Ships    repulsed.  —  The    Land    Attack.-i 
Retreat  of  Phips.  —  Condition  of   Quebec.  —  Rejoicings  of  i 
THE  French.  —  Distress  at  Boston. 


The  delay  at  Boston,  waiting  aid  from  England 
that  never  came,  was  not  propitious   to  Pliips;! 
nor  were  the  wind  and  the  waves.     The  voyage  toj 
the  St.  Lawrence  was  a  long  one  ;  and  when  he 
began,  without  a  pilot,  to  grope  his  way  up  ilie 
unknown  river,    the   weather   seemed    in   leagi 
with  his  enemies.     He  appears,  moreover,  to  ha« 
wasted  time.     What  was  most  vital  to  his  siicce^ 
was  rapidity  of  movement ;   yet,  whether  by  liii 
fault  or  his  misfortune,  he  remained  three  wQel 
within   three    days'  sail   of   Quebec.^     While  ani 
chored  off   Tadoassac,  with  the  wind   ahead,  !i| 
passed  the  idle  hours  in  holding  councils  of  n 
and  framing  rules  for  the  government  of  his  iiienj 
and,  when  at  length  the  wind  veered  to  the  east,! 
is  doubtful  if  he  made  the  best  use  of  his  oppoj 
tunity.^ 

1  Journal  of  Major  Walley,  in  Hutchinson,  Hist.  Mass.,  L  470. 
*  "  lis  ne  profit^rent  pas  du  vent  favorable  pour  nous  surprt« 
comme  ils  auroient  pu  faire."    Juchereau,  320. 


Pli 


[tliem. 
(llie  Ell 
Fence, 
feettleiii 
l-ebuff. 
bre  pij 
lis  par( 
ibe  bu.s 
iinbiisci 
:i]led 
le  resi 

/"Los  I 
IIS  tinu' 
^'"''.  and  t'l 


»■] 


PHIPS   ON   THE   ST.   LAWRENCE. 


263 


He  presently  captured  a  small  vessel,  comnianded 
bv  Granville,  an  officer  whom  Provost  had  sent  to 
;\atch  his  movements.  lie  had  already  captured, 
ni'or  Tiidoussac,  another  vessel,  having  on  board 
Madame  Lalande  and  Madame  Joliet,  the  wife  and 
the  mother-in-law  of  the  discoverer  of  the  Missis- 
sippi.' When  questioned  as  to  the  condition  of 
Qiiobec,  they  told  him  that  it  was  imperfectly  forti- 
fied, that  its  cannon  were  dismounted,  and  that  it 
iiad  not  two  hundred  men  to  defend  it.  Phips  was 
greatly  elated,  thinking  that,  like  Port  Royal,  the 
capital  of  Canada  would  fall  without  a  blow.  The 
jtateiiient  of  the  two  prisoners  was  true,  for  the 
jniost  part,  when  it  was  made;  but  the  energy  of 
|Pievost  soon  wrought  a  change. 

Phips  imagined  that  the  Canadians  would  offer 
I  little  resistance  to  the  Puritan  invasion ;  for  some 
of  the  Acadians  had  felt  the  influence  of  their  New 
England  neighbors,  and  shown  an  inclination  to 
Ithem.  It  was  far  otherwise  in  Canada,  where 
Ithe  English  heretics  were  regarded  with  abhor- 
rence. Whenever  the  invaders  tried  to  land  at  the 
settlements  along  the  shore,  they  were  met  by  a 
rebuff.  At  the  river  Quelle,  Francheville,  the 
cure  put  on  a  cap  and  capote,  took  a  musket,  led 
iis  parishioners  to  the  river,  and  hid  with  them  in 
Ihe  bushes.  As  the  English  boats  approached  their 
fmbuscade,  they  gave  the  foremost  a  volley,  which 
tilled  nearly  every  man  on  board ;  upon  which 

le  rest  sheared  off.     It  was  the  same  when  the 

'  "  Lps  Demoiselles  Lalande  et  Joliet."  The  title  of  madame  was  at 
>is  time  restricted  to  married  women  of  rank.  The  wives  of  the  bout' 
ws.aiid  even  of  the  lesser  nobles,  were  called  demoiselles. 


264 


DEFFNCE  OF  QUEBEC. 


IIGOO 


fleet  neared  Quebec.  Bands  of  militia,  vif,nlant 
agile,  and  well  commanded,  followed  it  aloiio-  the 
shore,  and  repelled  with  showers  of  bullets  every 
attempt  of  the  enemy  to  touch  Canadian  soil. 

When,  after  his  protracted  voyage,  Phips  mailed 
into  the  Basin  of  Quebec,  one  of  the  grandest 
scenes  on  the  western  continent  opened  upon  his 
sight:  the  wide  expanse  of  waters,  the  lofty  prom- 
ontory  beyond,  and  the  opposing  heights  of  Levi; 
the  cataract  of  Montmorenci,  the  distant  ranire 
of  the  Laurentian  Mountains,  the  warlike  rock 
with  its  diadem  of  w\alls  and  towers,  the  roofs  of 
the  Lower  Town  clustering  on  the  strand  beneath, 
the  Chateau  St.  Louis  perched  at  the  brink  of  the 
cliff,  and  over  it  the  white  l:)anner,  spangled  with 
fleiirs-de-lis,  flaunting  defiance  in  the  clear  autumnal 
air.  Perhaps,  as  he  gazed,  a  suspicion  seized  himl 
that  the  task  he  had  undertaken  was  less  easvj 
than  he  had  thought ;  but  he  had  conquered  oncej 
by  a  simple  summons  to  surrender,  and  he  resolvedj 
to  try  its  virtue  again. 

The  fleet  anchored  a  little  below  Quebec ;  and 
towards  ten  o'clock  the  French  saw  a  boat  put  ouiJ 
from  the  admiral's  ship,  bearing  a  flag  of  triiccj 
Four  canoes  went  from  the  Lower  Town,  and  met 
it  midway.  It  brought  a  subaltern  officer,  whc 
announced  himself  as  the  bearer  of  a  letter  fror 
Sir  William  Phips  to  the  French  commander.  He 
was  taken  into  one  of  the  canoes  and  paddled  to 
the  quay,  after  being  completely  blindfolded  by 
bandage  which  covered  half  his  face.  Prevost  rej 
ceived  him  as  he  landed,  and  ordered  two  sergeant 


A  FLAG  OF  TRUCE. 


265 


to  take  him  by  the  arms  and  lead  him  to  the 
Lovernor.  Ilis  progress  was  neither  rapid  nor 
pirect.  They  drew  him  hither  and  thither,  delight- 
Lf  to  make  him  clamber  in  the  dark  over  every 
pible  obstruction ;  while  a  noisy  crowd  hustled 
kini,  and  laughing  women  called  him  Colin  Mail- 
lard,  the  name  of  the  chief  player  in  blindman's 
kutl'  Amid  a  prodigious  hubbub,  intended  to 
bvildcr  him  and  impress  him  with  a  sense  of  im- 
mense warlike  preparation,  they  dragged  him  over 
the  tliree  barricades  of  Mountain  Street,  and 
brought  him  at  last  into  a  large  room  of  the 
cklteau.  Here  they  took  the  bandage  from  his 
eves.  He  stood  for  a .  moment  with  an  air  of 
Ltonishment  and  some  confusion.  The  governor 
^(00(1  before  him,  haughty  and  stern,  surrounded  by 
French  and  Canadian  officers,  Maricourt,  Sainte- 
[eleiie,  Longueuil,  Villebon,  Valrenne,  Bienville, 
ind  many  more,  bedecked  with  gold  lace  and 
per  lace,  perukes  and  powder,  plumes  and  rib- 
tons,  and  all  the  martial  foppery  in  which  they 
look  delight,  and  regarding  the  envoy  with  keen, 
Defiant  eyes.^  After  a  moment,  he  recovered  his 
path  and  his  composure,  saluted  Frontenac,  and, 
fxpressing  a  wish  that  the  duty  assigned  him  had 
een  of  a  more  agreeable  nature,  handed  him  the 
etter  of  Phips.  Frontenac  gave  it  to  an  inter- 
[reter,  who  read  it  aloud  in  French  that  all  might 
lear.    It  ran  thus  :  — 

'  Juchereau.  323. 
I '' "  Tons  ces  Officiers  s'etoient  habilMs  le  plus  proprement  qu'iis  pQrent, 

palons  d'or  et  d'argent,  les  rubans,  les   plumets,  la  poudre,  et  la 
isure,  rien  ne  manquoit,"  etc.    Ibid, 


W  } 


266 


DEFENCE  OF  QUEBEC. 


\m 


"  Sir  William  Phipa,  Knight,  General  and  Commander-in-chief  in  mid  on 
their  Majesties'  Forres  of  Neto  EmjJand,  bif  Sen  and  Land,  to  C,,,^ 
Frontcnac,  Lieutenant- General  and  Governour  for  the  French  Kimi 
Canada ;  or,  in  hia  absence,  to  his  Deputij,  or  him  or  them  in  chiif  o 
mand  at  Qnebeck : 

"The  WO',   between  the  crowns  of  England  and  Frain o  ddtl 
not  only  sufficiently  warrant,  but  the  destruction  made  l)v  tij 
French  and  Indians,  under  your  command  and  encour:ii,r,.iii,-„|j 
upon  the  persons  and  estates  of  their  Majesties'  subjects  ot'  ^'t_^ 
England,  without   provocation   on   their  part,   liulli  put  tin 
under  the  necessity  of  this  expedition  for  their  own  siTuritvai 
satisfaction.     And  although  the  cruelties  and  barbarities  ii>(-^ 
against  them  by  the  French  and  Indians  might,  upon  the  prcstn 
opportunity,  prompt  unto  a  severe  revenge,  yet,  being  desirou 
to  avoid  all  inhumane  and  uiichrisLian-like  actions,  and  to  jtre 
vent  shedding  of  blood  as  much  as  may  be, 

"  I,  the  aforesaid  AYilliam  Phips,  Knight,  do  hereby,  in  thJ 
name  and  in  the  behalf  of  their  most  excellent  Majesties,  )Vi( 
Ham  and  Mary,  King  and  Queen  of  England,  Scotland,  Franc 
and  Ireland,  Defenders  of  the  Faith,  and  by  order  of  their  sui^ 
Majesties'  government  of  the  Massachuset-colony  in  New  En^ 
land,  demand  a  present  surrender   of   your  forts  and  castle 
undemolished,  and   the  King's  and  other  stores,  niiiuibozzlt 
with  a  seasonable  delivery  of  all  captives  ;  togetlier  with  a  sui 
render  of  all  your  persons  and  estates  to  my  dispose :  upon  tii 
doing  whereof,  you  may  expect  mercy  from  me,  as  a  Cliristiuii 
according  to  what  shall  be  found  for  their  Majesties'  tervid 
and  the  subjects'  security.     Which,  if  you  refuse  fortliwit 
do,  I  am  come  provided,  and  am  resolved,  by  the  help  of  Gc 
in  whom  I  trust,  by  force  of  arms  to  revenge  all  wrongs  aiJ 
injuries  offered,  and  bring  you  under  subjection  to  tlio  C'ro\v[ 
of  England,  and,  when  too  late,  make  you  wish  you  had  a( 
cepted  of  the  favour  tendered. 

"  Your  answer  positive  in  an  hour,  returned  by  your  m\ 
trumpet,  with  the  return  of  mine,  is  required  upon  the  ptif 
that  will  ensue."  ^ 

^  See  the  Letter  in  Mather,  MiujuaUa,  I.  180.  Tlie  French  ktptl 
copy  of  it,  which,  with  an  accurate  translation,  in  parallel  coliiniiis,  wi 
sent  to  Versailles,  and  is  still  preserved  in  the  Archives  de  la  Maria 
The  text  answers  perfectly  to  that  given  by  Mather. 


ki 


REPLY  OF  FRONTENAC. 


267 


When  the  reading  was  finished,  the  Englishman 

ulled  liis  watch  from  his  pocket,  and  handed  it  io 

be  governor.     Frontenac  could  not,  or  pretended 

lat  he  could   not,  see  the  hour.     The  messenger 

liereupon  told  him  that  it  was  ten  o'clock,  and 

i\i  he  must  have  his  answer  before  eleven.     A 

eneral  cry  of  indignation  arose ;  and   Valreniie 

kH  out  that  Phips  was  nothing  but  a  pirate,  and 

at  his  man  ought  to  be  hanged.     Frontenac  con- 

aincd  himself  for  a  moment,  and  then  said  to  the 

|fDvoy :  — 

•I  will  not  keep   you  waiting  so  long.     Tell 
bur  general  that  I  do  not  recognize  King  William ; 
D(]  tliat  the  Prince  of  Orange,  who  so  styles  him- 
elf,  is  a  usurper,  who  has  violated  the  most  sacred 
m  of  blood  in  attempting  to  dethrone  his  father- 
law.    I  know  no  king  of   England  but   King 
lames.     Your  general  ought  not  to  be  surprised 
\i  the  hostilities  whicli  he  says  that  the  French 
ave  carried  on  in  the  colony  of  Massachusetts ; 
[or,  as  the  king  my  master  has  taken  the  king  of 
Inglaiid  under  his  protection,  and  is  about  to  re- 
place him  on  his  throne  by  force  of  arms,  he  might 
pe  expected  that  his  Majesty  would  order  me  to 
Dake  war  on  a  people  who  liave  rebelled  against 
ieir  lawful  prince."     Then,  turning  with  a  smile 
the  officers  about  him :  "  Even  if  your  general 
[ffered  me  conditions  a  little  more  gracious,  and  if 
had  a  mind  to  accept  them,  does  he  suppose  that 
lese  brave  gentlemen  would  give  their  consent, 
k]  advise  me  to  trust  a  man  who  broke  his  agree- 
lent  with  the  governor  of  Port  Royal,  or  a  rebel 


268 


DEFENCE  0¥  QUEBEC. 


l« 


who  has  failed  in  his  duty  to  his  king,  and  forf^ot 
ten  all  the  favors  he  had  received  from  him, 
follow  a  prince  who  pretends  to  be  the  liberator 
England  and  the  defender  of  the  faith,  and  m 
destroys  the  laws  and  privileges  of  the  kingdom 
and  overthrows  its  religion  ?  The  divine  jiisti 
which  your  general  invokes  in  his  letter  ^vill  lu 
fail  to  punish  such  acts  severely." 

The  messenger  seemed  astonished  and  startlcflj 
but  he  presently  asked  if  the  governor  would  gh^ 
him  his  answer  in  writing. 

"  No,"  returned  Frontenac,  "  I  will  answer  voii 
general  only  by  the  mouths  of  my  cannon,  that  \\\ 
may  learn  that  a  man  like  me  is  not  to  be  sui 
moned  after  this  fashion.  Let  him  do  his  best,  an^ 
I  will  do  mine  ; "  and  he  dismissed  the  Englislimai 
abruptl}^  He  was  again  blindfolded,  led  over  tli^ 
barricades,  and  sent  back  to  the  fleet  by  the  boa 
that  brought  him.^ 

Phips  had  often  given  proof  of  personal  courage 
but  for  the  past  three  weeks  his  conduct  seems  thai 
of  a  man  conscious  that  he  is  charged  with  a  worl 
too  large  for  his  capacity.  He  had  spent  a  gooi 
part  of  his  time  in  holding  councils  of  war;  ani 
now,  when  he  heard  the  answer  of  Frontenac,  hj 
called  another  to  consider  what  should  be  done. 
plan  of  attack  was  at  length  arranged.  The  milij 
tia  were  to  be  landed  on  the  shore  of  Beauporl] 
which  was  just  below  Quebec,  though  separate^ 

^  Letire  de  Sir  William  Phips  a  Af.  de  Frontenar,  avec  sa  Expanse 
bale  ;  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  pass^a  la  L)(sreute  des  Am/iois  a  Quebec  au  ma 
d'Oc.tobre,  1690.     Compare  Monseiguat,  Relation.     The  English  account! 
though  more  brief,  confirm  those  of  the  French. 


PLAN   OF  ATTACK. 


1^00 


oni  it  by  the  St.  Charles.     They  wore  then  to 

OS?  this  river  by  a  ford  practicable  at  low  water, 

[linib  the  heights  of  St.  Genevieve,  and  gain  the 

ir  of  the  town.     The  small  vessels  of  the  fleet 

^ere  to  aid  the  movement  by  ascending  the  St. 

iiarles  as  far  as  the  ford,  holding  the  enemy  in 

neck  by  their  tire,  and  carrying  provisions,  ammu- 

(ioii,  and  intrenching  tools,  for  the  use  of  the 

ii]  troops.     When  these  had  crossed  and  were 

kIv  to  attack  Quebec  in  the  rear,  Phips  was  to 

mionade  it  in  front,  and  land  two  hundred  men 

iider  cover  of  his  guns  to  effect  a  diversion  by 

Drilling  the  barricades.    Some  of  the  French  pris- 

|iers,  from  whom  their  captors  appear  to  have 

teived  a  great  deal  of  correct  information,  told 

|e  admiral  that  there  was  a  place  a  mile  or  two 

ove  the  town  where  the  heights  might  be  scaled 

U  the  rear  of  the  fortifications  reached  from  a 

ection  opposite  to  that  proposed.    This  was  pre- 

ely  the  movement  by  which  Wolfe  afterwards 

lined  his  memorable  victory ;  but  Phips  chose  to 

lide  by  the  original  plan.^ 

While  the  plan  was  debated,  the  opportunity  for 
pniplishing  it  ebbed  away.  It  was  still  early 
ken  the  messenger  returned  from  Quebec ;  but, 
lore  Phips  was  ready  to  act,  the  day  was  on  the 
Ine  and  the  tide  was  against  him.  He  lay  quietly 
|liis  moorings  when,  in  the  evening,  a  great  shout- 
mingled  with  the  roll  of  drums  and  the  sound 
[fifes,  was  heard  from  the  Upper  Town.     The 

^Journal  of  Major  W alley ;  Savage,  Account  of  the  Late  Action  of  tht 
fEnglciiukrs  (Lond.  1691). 


270 


DKFKNCK   OF   QUKMEC. 


J 


En«j;lisli  ofTirora   asked    their   prinoner,  Gninvli 
>viiat  it  meant.     "  Ma  foi,  Messieurs,"  h(>  npiij 
"  you  liave  lost  tlie  game.     It  is  the  govcnioi 
Montreal  with  the  people  from  the  country  jilto 
There  is  nothing  for  you  now  hut  to  pack  mik 
home."     In  fact,  Calliercs  had  arrived  with  sci 
or  eight  hundred   men,  many  of   them   roLTiil 
With  these  were  hands  of  courcurs  de  hois  and  ot 
young   Canadians,  all  full   of   fight,  singiiii: 
whooping  with  martial   glee   as   they  passed 
western  gate  and  trooped  down  St.  Louis  Stivoi 
The  next  day  was  gusty  and  hlustering  ;  and 
Phips  lay  quiet,  waiting  on  the  winds  and  the  wa\ 
A  small  vessel,  with  sixty  men  on  board,  under 
tain  Kphraim  Savage,  ran  in  towards  the  sliorei 
Beauport  to  examine  the  landing,  and  stucdv  fasi 
the  mnd.     The  Canadians  plied  her  with  biillj 
and  brought  a  cannon  to  bear  on  her.    They  iii^ 
have  waded  out  and  boarded  her,  but  Sava<,^e 
his  men  kept  up  so  hot  a  fire  that  they  fori 
the  attempt ;  and,  when  the  tide  rose,  she  (loa 


agam. 


There  was  another  night  of  tranquillity ;  bii 
about  eleven  on  Wednesday  morning  the  Frej 
heard  the  English  fifes  and  drums  in  full  act 
while  repeated  shouts  of  "  God  save  King  Willinr 
rose  from  all  the  vessels.  This  lasted  an  liou| 
more  ;  after  w^hich  a  great  number  of  boats,  loa 
with  men,  put  out  from  the  fleet  and  rowed  rapj 
towards  the  shore  of  Beauport.  The  tide  was 
and  the  boats  grounded  before  reaching  the  lij 

>  Juchereau,  826,  826. 


SKIUMISHINQ. 


271 


?.j)l:ir(\     The  Froncli  on  tlic  rook  conld  soo  (ho 

Y  through  tolosropes,  looking  in  tho  distance 

|e;i  swjinn  of  hjjirk  ants,  as  thoy  waded  through 

^ud  mid  water,  and  forinod  in  roni])MnioH  along  tho 

pud.    Thoy  wore  some  thirtoon  hundred  in  num- 

(r.;ind  wore  commanded  hy  Major  Wallc^y.'    Fron- 

onc  lind  sent  throe  hundred  sharpshooters,  imder 

|linto-lIel^ne,   to  meet  them  and   hold   them  in 

ock.     A  hattalion  of  troops  followed;  hut,  long 

Iffore  thoy  could  reach  the  spot,  Sainto-TIelono's 

en.  with  a  few  militia  from  the  neighhoring  pnr- 

}ip<.  nnd  a  hand  of  Huron  wnrriors  from  Lorctte, 

Irow  thomsolvos  into  tho  thickets  along  the  front 

the  English,  and  opened  a  distant  hut  galling 

upon  tho  compact  bodies  of  the  enemy.     Wal- 

|v  ordered    a  charge.     The    New  England  men 

pliod,  in  a  disorderly  manner,  but  with  great  im- 

etiiosity,  up  the  rising  ground  ;  received  two  vol- 

b.  which  failed  to  check  them :  and  drove  back 

assailants   in   some  confusion.     They  turned, 

Dwever,  and  fought  in  Indian  fashion  with  courage 

|i(l  address,  leaping   and   dodging  among  trees, 

cks,  and  bushes,  firing  as  they  retreated,  and 

dieting  more  harm  than  they  received.     Towards 

bning  they  disappeared  ;  and  Walley,  whose  men 

kd  been  much  scattered  in  the  desultory  fight, 

few  them  together  as  well  as  he  could,  and  advanced 

Iwards  the  St.  Charles,  in  order  to  meet  the  ves- 

|ls  winch  were  to  aid  him  in  passing  the  ford. 

I '"Between  12  and  1,300  men."  WaWey,  Journal.  "About  1,200  men." 
^^^6,  Account  of  the  Late  Action.     Savage  was  second  in  command  of 
( militia.    Mather  says,  1,400.    Most  of  the  French  accounts  say,  1,600 
me  say,  2,000 ;  and  La  Hontan  raises  tlie  number  to  3,000. 


nr.KKNl'K   Ol-    m.KUKC. 


]\ovo    lie    poslcd    scnlincls,  nnd    oiK-juupcil    foi  il, 
night.      I  If   had    h)st  lour  KjIUmI   iiihI   ahoiit  sixti 
>V(>in)(l(Ml.  and  iina;j:iiird  thai    he  had   kiiltMl  Iwint] 
or  ihirlv  of  llio  (Micmy.      In   lad,  howi'vcr,  iliii] 
loss  was   iniich  h*ss,  lhoiiL;h   Minon<;-   Ihc   killi  il  w;^ 
H  vahial)h'  olliciM*,  ihi*  ( 'hi'valicr  dc  ( •h'niioiil,  im 
anioiii;"    (ho  wonrnhMl  ih<'  voloran  capluin  of  Tm  ;i 
port,  .InchiM'faii  dc  Saint-Denis,  more*  than  sIm 
four  years  of  a<;v.    In  I  hi'  evening,  a  di'soih  rcjim 
to  the  I'lnghsh  cauip,   and   hrought.   the  UMwclidin 
mtidligiMiee  that  tliere  were  lhr(>e  thousMiid  lunu 
men  in  l^>uehee.' 

Mi^anwhiU',  IMiips,  whose  fauU  hitherto  hiid  ii( 
been  an  exeess  of  proniptitu<h\  grew  inipatieiil.ini 
niadi*  a  ])reniature  movement  ineonsisteut  with  tli 
preeoneerte«l  plan.  He  h>ft  his  moorings,  aiiclion 
his  hu'gest  sliijis  hefon*  the  town,  and  prepMivd 
cannonade  it;  hut  the  liiM'v  veteran,  who  wiitclitj 
him  from  the  Chateau  St.  Louis,  anticipated  liii^ 
and  gave  him  the  lirst  shot,.  Phips  rephed  {\it 
ously,  opening  lire  "with  every  gnn  that-  he  coul 
bring  to  bear  ;  while  the  rock  paid  him  hack  in  kiiij 

1  On  this  ulTair,  Walloy,  Journal;  Siivajje,  Accoiiut  of  the  /.ii/  .iJ 
(in  ft  lotter  to  his  brother) ;  Monsi'igiiat,  lulation;  liilntiim  d  la  h>i 
dcs  A»(i!ois:  liilntio))  dv  ItiS-J-lTTJ;  Lii  Honfiin,  T.  '2\',\.     "  M.  lo  liH 
do  Froiiti'iiac  so  troiiva  awe  I^.OOO  hoinmos."  Hi-lmont,  llistoiir  du  l'iim< 
A.i>.  ll)'.'0.     Tho  jirisonor  C\tptain  Sylvumis  Davis,  in  his  diary,  f.ivj.j 
fllroaily  im  lUionoit,  tliat  on  tiio  day  bcforo  IMiips's  arrival  mi  nimv 
ulara  ami  militia  arrived  that,  with   those  who  came  with   iMniiicni 
thero  wore  about  2,700.     This  was  before  the  arrival  of  CallioiV!',n| 
acoordiiig  to  Davis,  brouiiiit  but  ;U)(>.     'J'hus  tho  three  acooimts  nil 
deserter,  Heluuuit,  ami  Davis,  tally  exactly  as  to  the  sum  total. 

An  oncnjy  of  Frontenac  writes,  "  Ce  n'est  pas  sa  pre'siiico  quij 
prendre  la  fuite  aux  Anglois,  niais  lo  grand  nombre  do  FraiKoi.<i 
•  quels  ils  virent  bien  que  celuy  de  leurs  guerriors  n'etoit  pas  capablej 
faire  teto."     liemarques  snr  rOraison  lunebre  de  Jeu  M  dt  Fronlom. 


$»\ 


Tlir,    CANNONADK. 


27:; 


liiiil  lt('I(  )i(m1  lliiiiH*  niid  sinokr  [1*0111  nil  its  lMitlnri(>M. 

k)  liciic  n?i<l    i'n\)'\i\  was  llu'   ('ir'mi.%   IIimI    fi.i    lloii- 

Lti  ((MiipiiiTs  it,  lo  v()ll('\ s  ol    imiskj'lrv;  nii'l  <»M 

otlit''''*'  \\\io   liiid   seen   iimiiv  slr;i;('S,  dcclnnMl    ||i;i,t, 

Itlit'V  liM'l  never  known  llir  like'    Tlir  din  wjim  jho- 

iiuioiis,  i'('V(M'l)(M'nl('(]  from  I  In*  sin  roiMnlin;;  liri^^lits, 

inl  rolled  biU'k  from  i\\v  dist.'inl  iiioiint.'iins  in  ono 

iiiiioiiM  ro;ir.    Oil  tl*.*  j»iMl  of  I  lie  I'in^disli,  liow- 

kvr.  siir|)risin;i,ly    little   wjis   iiccomjdislicd    In'sldc; 

hoist'  ;iiid  smoke.      Tlie   prswlice  of  llieir  ;^iiinierM 

rassoliiid    lli.'it    ninny  of  llieir  shot   siriick    iinrm- 

slv  Jiij^Jiinst    tin'    f.iee    of    the  clilT.     Their   /:;imim, 

).  weri!    wry    lio'ht,    niid    nppejir    to    h.'iv(^    heen 

[bri:('<l  with  a  vi<^w  to  the  most,  rij^id   economy  of 

powder;   for  th(^  hiills  hiiled  to  pi(M'(M^  tin;  sIoik; 

^alNof  the  l)nildin<!;s,  nnd  did  so  littler  dnnui^e  tluii, 

the  b'rench  honsled,  twenty  crowns  would   h;iv(; 

quircil   it  nll.'^     Ni;j;lit   came   at  length,  nnd    the 

liriiioil  cejiscd. 

Pliips  lay  quiet  till  daybreak,  when   Frontenao 

[ntii  shot  to  waken  him,  and  the  cannonade  be^an 

pin.   Sainte-Heli^ne  luid  returnc^l  from  I5eauport ; 

|i(l  ho,  with  his  brother  Maricourt,  took  charge 

the  two  batteries  of  the  Lower  Town,  aiming  the 

liiis  ill  person,  and  throwing  balls  of  eighteen  and 

[eiity-four  pounds  with  excelh.'nt  precision  against 

four  largest  ships  of  the  fleet.     One  of  theii* 

)tsciit  the  flagstaff  of  the  admiral,  and  the  cross 

St.  George  fell  into  the  river.     It  drifted  with 

tide  towards  the  north  shore ;  whereupon  sev- 

>  La  Ilontan,  I.  216 ;  Juchereau,  820. 
2  Vhre  Germain,  Halation  de  la  Difaile  des  Angloit. 

16 


274 


DEFENCE  OF  QUEBEC. 


1169 


II  t 


eral  Canadians  paddled  out  in  a  birch  canoe,  securei 
it,  and  brought  it  back  in  triumph.  On  the  splr( 
of  the  cathedral  in  the  Upper  Town  had  been  hum 
a  picture  of  the  Holy  Family,  as  an  invocation  oj 
divine  aid.  The  Puritan  gunners  wasted  their  amj 
munition  in  vain  attempts  to  knock  it  down.  Thn 
it  escaped  their  malice  was  ascribed  to  miracle,  bui 
the  miracle  would  have  been  greater  if  they  ha 
hit  it. 

At  length,  one  of  the  ships,  which  had  suffen 
most,  hauled  off  and  abandoned  the  fight.  That 
the  admiral  had  fared  little  better,  and  now  Ik 
condition  grew  desperate.  With  her  rigging  lori 
her  mainmast  half  cut  through,  her  mizzen-moi 
splintered,  her  cabin  pierced,  and  her  hull  riddli 
with  shot,  another  volley  seemed  likely  to  sink  hei 
when  Phips  ordered  her  to  be  cut  loose  from  h< 
moorings,  and  she  drifted  out  of  fire,  leaving  cabl 
and  anchor  behind.  The  remaining  ships  so( 
gave  over  the  conflict,  and  withdrew  to  statioi 
where  they  could  neither  do  harm  nor  suffer  it. 

Phips  had  thrown  away  nearly  all  his  ammui 
tion  in  this  futile  and  disastrous  attack,  which  shoi 
have  been  deferred  till  the  moment  when  Wallej 
with  his  land  force,  had  gained  the  rear  of  tl 
town.  Walley  lay  in  his  camp,  his  men  wet,  shivf 
ing  with  cold,  famished,  and  sickening  with  tl 
small-pox.  Food,  and  all  other  supplies,  were 
liave  been  brought  him  by  the  small  vessels,  Avhii 

*  Besides  authorities  before  cited,  Le  Clorcq,  jStahlissemeni  ii\ 
F(n/,IL  434;  La  Potherie,  III.  118;  Rapport  de  Champigny,  Od,  16^ 
Laval   Letlre  a ,  20  Nov.,  1690. 


aid  Wai: 
Ihad  he 
itlie  mor 
in  the  r( 
N  his 
pentiire, 
•ortunit 
>f  succei 


noo.i 


THE  LAND  ATTACK. 


275 


mizzen-mnj 


jlioulfl  have  entered  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Charles 
and  aided  him  to  cross  it.  But  he  waited  for  them 
in  vain.  Every  vessel  that  carried  a  gun  had  busied 
itself  in  cannonading,  and  the  rest  did  not  move. 
There  appears  to  have  been  insubordination  among 
(he  masters  of  these  small  craft,  some  of  whom,  be- 
ing owners  or  part-owners  of  the  vessels  they  com- 
Diancled,  were  probably  unwilling  to  run  them  into 
lianger.  Walley  w^as  no  soldier ;  but  he  saw  that  to 
attempt  the  passage  of  the  river  without  aid,  under 
the  batteries  of  the  town  and  in  the  face  of  forces 
twice  as  numerous  as  his  own.  was  not  an  easy  task. 
Frontenac,  on  his  part,  says  that  he  wished  him  to 
do  so,  knowing  that  the  attempt  would  ruin  him.' 
The  New  England  men  were  eager  to  push  on ; 
kt  the  night  of  Thursday,  the  day  of  Phips's  re- 
pulse, was  so  cold  that  ice  formed  more  than  an 
inch  in  thickness,  and  the  half-starved  militia  suf- 
fered intensely.  Six  field-pieces,  with  their  ammu- 
nition, had  been  sent  ashore ;  but  they  were  nearly 
useless,  as  there  were  no  means  of  moving  them. 
Half  a  barrel  of  musket  powder,  and  one  biscuit  for 
lach  man,  w-ere  also  landed  ;  and  with  this  meagre 
aid  Walley  w^as  left  to  capture  Quebec.  He  might, 
had  he  dared,  have  made  a  dash  across  the  ford  on 
the  morning  of  Thursday,  and  assaulted  the  town 
in  the  rear  while  Phips  w\as  cannonading  it  in  front ; 
but  his  courage  was  not  equal  to  so  desperate  a 
[venture.  The  firing  ceased,  and  the  possible  op- 
jportiinity  was  lost.  The  citizen  soldier  despaired 
f  success ;  and,  on  the  morning  of  Friday,  he  went 

i  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  12  et  19  Nov.,  1600. 


276 


DEFENCE  OF   QUEBEC. 


[109 


!     I  i 


on  board  the  admiral's  ship  to  explain  his  situationJ 
While  he  was  gone,  his  men  put  themselves  in  motion] 
and  advanced  along  the  borders  of  the  St.  Charles 
towards  the  ford.     Frontenac,  with  three  battalions 
of  regular  troops,  Avent  to  receive  them  at  the  cross 
ing;  while    Sainte-Helene,  with  his  brother  Lon-i 
gueuil,  passed  the  ford  with  u,  body  of  Canadians,  anc 
opened  fire  on  them  from  the  neighboring  thicket.^ 
Their  advance  parties  were  driven  in,  and  then 
was  a  hot  skirmish,  the  chief  loss  falling  on  the  Ne\| 
England  men,  who  were  fully  exposed.     On  the 
side  of  the   French,  Sainte-Helene  was  morta 
wounded,  and  his  brother  was  hurt  by  a  spent  ballj 
Towards  evening,  the  Canadians  withdrew,  and  tli« 
English   encamped    for   the    night.      Their  conH 
mander  presently  rejoined   them.      The   admira] 
had  given  him  leave  to  withdraw  them  to  the  fleet 
and  boats  were  accordingly  sent  to  bring  them  of 
but,  as  these  did  not  arrive  till  about  daybreak. 
was  necessary  to  defer  the  embarkation  till  tin 
next  night. 

At  dawn,  Quebec  was  all  astir  with  the  beatinj 
of  drums  and  the  ringing  of  bells.  The  New  En^,, 
land  drums  replied ;  and  Walley  drew  up  his  niel 
under  arms,  expecting  an  attack,  for  the  towij 
was  so  near  that  the  hubbub  of  voices  from  Avithir 
could  plainly  be  heard.  The  noise  gradually  diej 
away ;  and,  except  a  few  shots  from  the  ramparts 
the  invaders  were  left  undisturbed.  Walley  sen! 
two  or  three  companies  to  beat  up  the  neighboring 
thickets,  where  hb  suspected  that  the  enemy  w 
lurking.     On  the  way,  they  had  the  good  luck  tj 


D.] 


THE  ENGLISH  DISCOMFITED. 


277 


find  and  kill  a  number  of  cattle,  which  they  cooked 
lud  ate  on  the  spot ;  whereupon,  being  greatly 
refreshed  and  invigorated,  they  dashed  forward  in 
complete  disorder,  and  were  soon  met  by  the  fire 
of  the  ambushed  Canadians.  Several  more  com- 
panies were  sent  to  their  support,  and  the  skirmish- 
ing became  lively.  Three  detachments  from  Quebec 
liad  crossed  the  river ;  and  the  militia  of  Beauport 
and  Beaupre  had  hastened  to  join  them.  They 
{ought  like  Indians,  hiding  behind  trees  or  throw- 
ing themselves  flat  among  the  bushes,  and  laying 
repeated  ambuscades  as  they  slowly  fell  back.  At 
length,  they  all  made  a  stand  on  a  hill  behind  the 
buildings  and  fences  of  a  faVm  ;  and  here  they  held 
their  ground  till  night,  while  the  New  England 
men  taunted  them  as  cowards  who  would  never 
fight  except  under  cover. ^ 

Walley,  who  with  his  main  body  had  stood  in 

ms  all  day,  now  called  in  the  skirmishers,  and 

ell  back  to  the  landing-place,  where,  as  soon  as  it 

rew  dark,  the  boats  arrived  from  the  fleet.     The 

men,  of  whom  there  were  many,  were  sent  on 

ard,  and  then,  amid   floods  of   rain,  the  whole 

force  embarked  in  noisy  confusion,  leaving  behind 

liom  in  the  mud  five  of  their  cannon.     Hasty  as 

as  their  parting,  their  conduct  on  the  whole  had 

een  creditable  ;  and  La  Hontan,  who  was  in  Quebec 

it  the  time,  says  of  them,  *'  They  fought  vigor- 

usly,  though  as  ill-disciplined  as  men  gathered 

igether  at  random  could  be ;    for  they  did  not 

ck  courage,  and,  if  they  failed,  it  was  by  reason 

^  Relation  de  la  Descente  des  Angloia. 


II) 


278 


DEFENCE  OF   QUEBEC. 


It  li 
i 


of  their  entire  ignoranoc  of  discipline,  and  Ijo.i 
cause  tlicy  were  exhausted  by  the  fatigues  of  tho 
voyage."  Of  Phips  he  speaks  with  conleinpt,  and 
says  that  he  could  not  have  served  the  I'lvnchl 
better  if  they  had  bribed  him  to  stand  all  the  whilo 
with  his  arms  folded.  Some  allowance  sliouldl 
nevertheless,  be  made  him  for  Wm  uninana^^cjiblel 
character  of  the  force  under  his  conunaud,  tli 
constitution  of  which  was  fatal  to  military  .sub- 
ordination. ^ 

Cn  Sunday,  the  morning  after  the  re-en ibaika-| 
tion,  Phips  called  a  council  of  officers,  and  it  uii 
resolved  that  the  men  should  rest  for  a  daj  or  twoj 
that  there  should  be  a  niceting  for  prayer,  (uid  that 
if  amnuuiition  enough  could  be  found,  another  land^ 
ing  should  be  attempted ;  but  the  rough  weatlie^ 
prevented  the  prayer-meeting,  and  the  plan  of 
new^  attack  was  fortunately  abandoned. 

Quebec   remained    in    agitation   and   jdarin  til 
Tuesday,  when  Phips  w^cighed  anchor  and  disip 
peared,  with  all  his  fleet,  behind    the   Island 
Orleans.     He  did  not  go  far,  as  indeed  ho  coiil(| 
not,  but  stopped  four  leagues  below  to  mend  ii<j 
ging,  fortify  wounded  masts,  and  stop  sliot-liolo^ 
Subercase  had  gone  with  a  detachment  to  watd 
the  retiring   enemy ;    and   Phips  was  repcatoHj 
seen  among  his  men,  on  a  scaffold  at  the  side 
his  ship,  exercising  his   old    trade    of   carpontei 
This  delay  w^as  turned  to  good  use  by  an  exclian^^ 
of  prisoners.     Chief  among  those  in  the  hands 
the  French  was  Captain  Davis,  late  connuander 
Casco  Bay  ;  and  there  were  also  two  young  daug 


CONDITION  OF   QUEnKC. 


279 


ijjrs  of  Lieutenant  Clark,  who  had  Ijeini  killed  at 
tie  same  place.  Frontenac  himself  had  humanely 
Liisomcd  these  children  from  the  Indians ;  and 
Hiidamc  de  Championy,  wife  of  the  intendant, 
Li],  with  equal  kindness,  hought  from  them  a 
Itilc  <^'lrl  named  Sarah  Gerrish,  and  placed  her 
liD charge  of  the  nuns  at  the  IJotel-Dieu,  who  had 
Lconie  greatly  attached  to  her,  while  she,  on  her 
Lit. left  them  with  reluctance.  The  Freniih  had 
Ithe  better  in  these  exchanges,  receiving  able- 
lyied  men,  and  returning,  with  the  exception  of 
Davis,  only  women  and  children. 

The  heretics  were  gone,  and   Quebec  breathed 

eely  again.  Her  escape  had  been  a  narrow  one  ; 
Uthat  three  thousand  men,  in  part  regular  troops, 
[ieieiKling  one  of  the   strongest  })ositions  on   the 

itinent,  and  commanded  by  Frontenac,  could 
|iot  defy  the  attacks  of  two  thousand  raw  fishermen 

ttd  farmers,  led  by  an  ignorant  civilian,  but  the 
kiimbers  which  were  a  source  of  strength  were  at 
lie  same  time  a  source  of  weakness.^  Nearly  all 
lie  adult  males  of  Canada  were  gathered  at  Quebec, 

ttd  there  was  imminent  danger  of  starvation. 
Cattle  from  the  neighboring  parishes  had  been 
ptily  driven  into  the  town ;  but  there  was  little 
[thor  provision,  and  before  Phips  retreated  the 
poll  of  famine  had  begun.  Had  he  come  a  week 
aiiier  or  stayed  a  week  later,  the  French  them- 

'  The  small-pox  hiul  left  probably  loss  tban  '2,000  cft'ective  men  in 
iflt'ot  when  it  arrived  before  Quebcn!.  The  iiuinber  of  regular  troops 
|Caiia<l;i  by  the  roll  of  1685)  was  1,418.  Nothing  had  since  occurred  to 
wtly  diniiuish  the  number.     Callieres  left  about  fifty  in  Montreal,  and 

haps  also  a  few  in  the  neighboring'  fortp      The  rest  were  in  Quebec 


280 


DEFIONCK  OF  QUKHKC. 


11 


I 


Hclves  bolievod   tluit  QikOh'o  would   linvi*  fiillcii. 
tlio  ono  oMso  for  wjint  of  iikmi,  nml  in  llio  other  ii 
vvMut  of  food. 

T\\o   TiONNor  Town  lind   hvvn   nbMndoiuMl  hy  i| 
inlij\l)i<ants,  wlio  ht'stowod  tluMr  fiimilios  and  (Ik 
fnrnitiiro  Nvitliin   (lii»   solid  \\n\h  of   thi»  scmiiiiiH 
Tlio  collars  of  (lio  Ursulino  conv(»nt  wore  fillod  wij 
womon  and  oliildrcMi,  and    many  nioro  took  r(>fii| 
at  tlio  Uotol-niou.     Tho  honiisand  oal)))M^'os  in  || 
gardon  of  tlio  nuns  woro  all  sIoUmi  hy  ilio  soldicn 
and  thoir  wood-pilo  was  turnocl   inlo  hivoimc  fm 
*' Wo  woro  nioro  doad   (lian   alivo  wJion  \\v  ]uk\ 
tlio  (\\nnon,"  writes  Modior. I uoIk  roan  ;  l>u(  \\\o,]{ 
nit  Kromin  oanio  to  eonsolo  tlioin,  and  Uioir  piMv 
and   thoir  lal)ors  never  oeasod.     On  the  dnv  win 
the  flriiiix  was  heaviest,  twentv-six   halls  I'cll  iiJ 
their   vard  and  ijrarden,  and  were  sent  to  tlio  'n 
ners  at  the  hatteries,  who   returned   theni  to  tli 
Enu:lish  owners.     At  the  convent  of  the  UrsuliiK 
the  corner  of  a  nun's  apron  was  carried  off  hv 
cannon-shot  as  she  passed   through  her  cliainhj 
The  sisterhood  he2:an  a  iiorena,  or  nine  davs'  dc 
tion,  to  St.  Joseph,  St.  Ann,  the  angels,  and  t| 
souls  m  purgatory;  and  one  of  their  niiiulK>r 
mained  day  and  night  in  prayer  before  the  inini^ 
of  the  Holy  Family.     The  bishop  came  to  oiicoi 
age  them;  and  his  prayers  and  his  chants  weroi 
fervent   that    they  thought    their   last   hour  \\\ 
come.^ 

The  superior  of  the  Jesuits,  with  some  of 
elder  members  of  the  Order,  remained  at  their  oj 

*  R6i:it  d'une  R^igteuse  Ursuline,  in  Les  Ursulines  de  Quebec,  I.  •110 


m 


ALARM  OF  TlIK  FHKNCII. 


281 


Lo  (liiriiii^   llKMiMfick,  rojuly,  slioiild   lli(»  liorutics 

Lviiili  <o  r(»|)nir  fo  Micir  cluiix*!,  jmd   (1i(^  before 

L;ill;ir.     Kuinor  exag^('n»|(Ml  lli(»  ihiiiiImm'h  of  tlio 

Liny,  jmd  ji  goiioral   alnrm    pcrviidcd    llie  lovvn. 

lit wMS  still  groalor  at  Lorolto,  iiiiii^  miles  dislnnt. 

tio  wii Triors  of  (hat  mission  were  in  the  first  skir- 

sli  !it  Boaiiport ;  and  two  of  (hem,  running  off  in  a 

fiirlil.  reported  at  the  village  (hat  (he  enemy  were 

(living  every  thing   hefon^  (hem.     On  (his,  (ho 

Im'VH  fled  (o  the  woods,  followed  hy  Ka,(her  (Jer- 

mill,  Iheir  missionary,  (o  whom  this  hasly  exodus 

offT^'sted  the  flight  of  the  Holy  Family  into  Kgypt.' 

\k  Jesuits  were  thought  to  liave  spiMiial  reason 

fi'MT  the  Puritan  soldiery,  who,  it  was  reported, 

peaiil  to  kill  them  all,  after  eutting  off  their  ears 

iiiinke  necklaees.'* 

When  news  first  came  of  the  a])proach  of  Pliips, 

lie  bishop  was  absent  on  a  pastoral  tour.     Ilasten- 

k  biiek,  he  entered   (iuc])ec  at  night,  by  torch- 

jjlit,  to  the  great  joy  of  its  inmates,  who  felt  that 

is  presence  brought  a  benediction.     He  issued  a 

n'toral  address,  exhorting  his  (lock  to  frequent 

1(1  full  confession  and  constant  attendjince  at  mass, 

the  means  of  insuring  the  success  of  their  arms.' 

aval,  the  former  bishop,  aided  his  efforts.     "  We 

fpoaled,"  he  writes,  "  to  God,  his  Holy  Mother, 

i.ill  the  Angels,  and  to  all  the  Saints."  '*     Nor  was 


"  II  nous  rossouvint  alors  de  la  fuite  de  Nostre  Seigneur  en  Egypte." 
|rc  Germain,  AV'/a</on. 

h//m/. 

•  I.cttiv  pastorale  pour  disposer  les  Penplesde  ce  Dioclse  a  se  lien  cleffendrt 
fre.les  Amjtuis  (Keg.  de  I'Eveclid  de  Quebec). 
I*  Laval  a ,  Nov.  20,  1600 


282 


DKKICNl'K   l)K    <4llKnKC. 


[\m\\ 


4 


tlio  np|HMi]  in  vnin  :   for  vi\v\\  «l{iy  scoiihmI   (o  l»iiii(f 


Nomo  n(Mv  (t>k(Mi   of   (M^lcMiinl    favor  ;  iind    i( 


IS    iKltl 


Mnr|nising   llinl    \\\v   Im«m«I-\\  inds  wliicli  dclnvcd  t!|J 
nppro!M*1)   of   (lie  (MHMnv.  Ilio  coM    nixl    (li<>  siortii!|| 
>vlii('h   IuisIimkmI    liis  «l(»|)Mrliir«»,  mihI.  mIiovc  nil.  || 
Hingnlnrlv    innoronl    <'imnonn(l(»,   wliirli    Killed    |,i 
two  or  \h\oo  piM'sons.  sIkmiM   ha\(»    I)vmmi    ii(('<'|ti(i| 
ns  pn)of  of  divino  inhMviMilion.      Il  wus  to  llic  ||, 
Virgin   tlial    (^>uoh(M'    had   l)Oon   most  lavish  ol  ii 
vows,  and    to   \\ov  tlio   virtorv  was  ascriluMl. 
Ont*  iHH^at  an\i<Mv  still  tronhlcd  the  nnnds  of  th 


'^\ 


victors.      I  hvov  ships.  hrniuinLi'  Inrin*  snnis  ol  moiii 


I'  (ir 


and    tho    vi»arly  snp|»li(\s   for   tlu»    colony,  wci 
tlioir  way  to  Qnid)co  ;  and  nothing'  was  mi(M(<  like 
than  thai  tho  retiring  IUmM  would  nKH»l  ami  cMplmi 


tl 


uMn, 


M 


csst 


nLTcM's  had   hiMMi  s(Md  down  IIh»  livcpj 


>viu^    pMssod    the    Knglish    in    liir   dark,    found  lli^ 
ships  at  St.   Tanl's   liay.  and  warned    theiu   of  ili^ 
danii'or.     Thov    IuimumI   haclv.  and    hid    thciuscKi 
>vithin  the  month  of   llu^  S.MLiMUMiav;  hut  not.  souil 
enough   to   prevent    IMiips    from    discovering  (he 
retreat.     He  tried   to  follow  them  ;  hnt  thick  l'( 
arose,  with   a   persistent  tempest  of   snow,  wiiii 
completely    hallled    him,    and,    after   waiting  livj 
days,  he  gave  over  the  attempt.     When  he  w; 
gone,  th(^  three  ships  emerged   from  their  hidiiii 
place,   and   sailed   again   for  Quebec,   wIumv  tliej 
were  greeted  with  a  universal  jubilee.     Their  il^ 
liverauce  was  ascribed  to  Saint  Ann,  the  mollior 
the  Virgin,  and  also  to  St.  Francis  Xavicr,  who^ 
name  one  of  them  bore. 

Quebec  was  divided  between  thanksgiving 


UlUOICtNCJH   AT   QiriCni')(\ 


:i.s:i 


Liii'iilg.  'riM»  (Mi|)liii(««l  (lii^  of  !Mii|>M'M  Hliip  wnrt 
L|ii(<  Id  ilio  cntlMMlriii  ill  (i-iiiiii|ili  ;  (li(*  l>i.';li()|) 
m  Tr  Dadii)  iiiid,  Miiiid  lli«"  Oiiii;.';  ol  ('!mrioii, 
L'iiiiMgc  ol"  IIh»  Virgin  nvmm  cjirricMl  lo  («;i('li  cliiircli 
liiiil  ('li:i|)(*l  ill  llio  |)liM'(>  !)>'  it  procfssioii,  in  wliicli 
LnIm.  |)r()|)l(»,  iiiid  lioopM  mII  ((M)K  piirl.  TIk'  dny 
I(|i)mmI  with    (I   giMiMi    l)()ii(ir<>    in    lionor   of    l^'roti- 

Iteiiiic. 

ii(>  of  llio  lliroo  shlpM  (Miriicd  b.'ick  \\\v.  im-vvm  of 

viclory,    wliicli    wmh    Imilcd    wifli    joy    Jit-    Vcr- 

iilli's;  mid   ]i.  iiHMlnl  wnM  hIimk-U    Io   ('OMiiiiciMornlo 

|t.   TIm'   Mliij)  ciiniiMl   jdso  ji,  dcsjmfcli   fioni    Fron- 

iiic.     ''  Now    Mml    (lie    kin<i,-    Iiiih    liiinn|>li<'d    l>y 

111  niid    HOJi,"    wrolc    llie    old    Moldicr,  "  will    lio 

ink  lliJit  n-  IVw  s<inii(lronM  of   Ihm  nnvy  would   ho 

til  oiiiploycMl    in   ])iinishing   Iho   insoh'nco   of    thcMO 

eiiuiiH?  old  pMrliiniKMiliiriiiiiH  of  Boston,  Jind  cruHh- 

I'tlicin  in  tJuMi'don  niid  the  Mnj'lishof  N(;w  York 

kwrH?     IJy  miisliMin^^  Ihcsc;  two   fowriM,  wo  hIimII 

tmv  I  ho  wholly  H(*n,-('on,sl ,  hcsidos  iho   fishcrios  of 

lie  (Inn  1(1   IJjink,  wliioh   is  no  slinhf,  injitlcr:   find 

i^  would  ho  Iho  Irno,  and  p('rlifi[)M  IIk;   ordy,  wny 

l)riu,u;ini^  tho   warn  of  Cainidji  io  Jui  ond  ;    for, 

lioii  llui  Englisli  aro  oonrpiorod,  \v(^  vwn  onsily  ro- 

[oce  the  Troqnois  to  coinploto  snhmission."  ' 

Pliips   rotnrnod    oi'ostfallon    to    Boston    late    in 

fovoinhor;  and  ono  hy  ono  the  rost  of  tlic  fleet 

[lino  .stra":<2:lin<i:  after  hhn,  hatterod  and  wo.'ither- 

eaten.     Some  did  not  appear  till  Fehruary,  and 

bee  or  four  never  came  at  all.     The  antunm  and 

irly   winter    were    unusually    stormy.     Captain 

uiLsford,  with  sixty   men,  was  WTOokod   «jn   the 

*  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  9  ei  12  Nov.,  IG'JO. 


1284 


DKKKNCK  OK  QITKHRC. 


llOfl 


Islinid  of  Aniicosli,  wlioro  tnnro  Hum  IimK  iIk 
numlxM'  (lied  of  (M)l(l  nnd  inisrry.'  in  lli(>  oji, 
voHMols,  some*  \v<M'(»  (IrowniMl,  somo  frosi-hill 
abovo  two  limidrcd  killed   by  .smMll-[)o\  mid  f 


<Ml,  iiiid 


V\i 


At    Bosloii,   .'dl    UMS    disnmy  and    ;:,loom.     'rij 
Pnritnu  bowiMl   boforo  ''  Ibis  awful  frown  of  do,] 
and  sennduMl    bis  ronscioncc   for  (be  sin   Ih.ii  || 
broni;bl  nj)on  bim  so  stern  a  cbaslisenieul  "     M; 
Baeluisetis,  ab'eiidy  ini|)ov(MMshe(I,  i'onnd   licrscll' 
oxtrennly.     'V\\o  \v;n\  insfend   of   payini;  for  itscK 
bad  bnrd(Mied  hov  willi  nn   {ubblional   debl of  Hfti 


tli 


d 


lonsand   i)onn(is 


d; 


11i 


le  sailors  ani 


I   sold 


KM'S  \V('l1 


clamorous  for  tbeir  pay;  and,  to  satisfy  llieiu.  thj 
cob)nv  was  foived  for  tbe  first  time  in  its  liislorv 


issue  a  paper  eurreuey 


It 


was  made  roeeivnhlc 


a  premium  for  all   public  debts,  and  was  ;iIso  forti 
ficd  by  a   provision   for   its   early   redemplioii  hj 
taxation  ;  a  provision  wbiob  was  carried  into  olTi 
in  s2)ito  of  povort}^  and  distress.'* 

*  Mather,  M(U}milia,  I.  102. 
'^    J'fif  (lOirruor  atid  Council  to  the  Agrtits  of  ^^^.^ssa('hus^lts,  in  Anilf{ 

Tracts,  III.  M. 

*  AihliruK  of  the  (ioitrif,  M('rc/iii)its,(tii(l  others,  Ihld.,  11.  U.')(». 

*  'riu'  followinjx  is  ii  literal  copy  oi  t\  s|UH'iiuoii  of  this  paper  nioni'j 
which  varied  in  value  from  two  sliilliiijjs  to  ten  pounds:  — 

No.   (21GI)    10* 

This    Indentoil  Hill  of  Ten  Sliilliiijjs,  duo  from  the  Massiuiluisotj 
Colony  to  the  Possessor,  shall  be  in  value  eqiial  to  Money,  and  !*li;i!l  1 
accordinsrly  lu-eented  by  the   Treasurer  and  Heeeiver.s  suhotiliii.ite 
him  in  all  Publiek  I'ayments,  and  for  any  Stock  at  any  tinio  in 
Treasury  Boston  in  New  England,  December  the  10'.''  lO'JO.    IJy  Ori 
of  the  General  Court. 

Pktkr  Townsknd  \ 
Adam  Winthkoi-   >  t^*""'" 


Tim.  Tiioknton 


) 


When  tins  paper  came  into  the  hands  of  the  treasurer,  it  was  bur 
Nevertheless,  owing  to  the  temporary  character  of  the  provisional  j 


MISTAIU-:   OK   MASMACIIUSKirS. 


liHO 


MiiNs;i('lmHol(s  lijul  iiumIo  licr  iiMiinl  inislnkr.     Slio 

[ml  conrKlonlly  lK'Ii(!VO(|   (luil   |u;n()nni('(;  and  iiicx- 

N>niMi(M' could  irmlcli  Mi(»  .Mkill  of  u  Jiicd  vclcinii,  n?id 

liitliic  rudo  (•oiinixtM)f  her  (islicnncn  nnd  fmirurrH 

iild   liimn|>li    williout    discipline    or    Icjidcrsliip. 

i(>  coiidilionH  of    lior    nuilciiid    prosperity   wciro 

wrsc  to  (illicioncy  in  vviir.     A   ti{idin<^  ropidiiic, 

thuiit  trained  ollicors,  may  win  vic,lori(;H ;  hut  it 

ins  llicni  either  hy  accident  or  hy  an  extravagant 

ay  in  money  and  life. 

flnirnt,  it  ft-ll  for  a  timo  to  tlio  value  of  from  fourteen  to  iixtccn 
\ii\\\\p  ill  tlio  pound. 

In  till'  lliltliolliivpic  NiitioiKilo  ih  (ho  ori^innl  driift  of  n  renin rkribio 
lip.  I>v  llu<  cni^inoer  V'illcncuvo,  of  wliicli  n  ftirsimilc  in  before  nie.  It 
^rc<'iitH  in  (letnil  the  town  nnd  fortinciitionH  of  (jnehce,  the  Nurroiind- 
^jdoiiilry,  nnd  the  po.sillonH  of  th(>  Knt;hsh  (h-et  and  litiul  Ibrees,  nnd 
irntiilctl  /'A/l/V  /)/>:  Qtll'Uli:<\  rf  dc  hvh  hUmirnm,  KN  LA  NOIJ. 
inU  I'liANCE,  AS.S/lU;!':  J* A  It  Li:S  AN(SIJ>IS,h.  10  d'Oc- 
Vtt  lO'.lO  I'lisiiu'dH  22  dud,  vkh'h  (/n'i/s  h'ih  allrirnf,  (i/i/tii:i  minir  vsl€  hien 
PAR  M'.  Lie  COM  IE  UE  EliONTENAC,  fjouuerucur  yeneral 

/'u(/«. 


tsnchunrttx,  in  AnM 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


1C90-1694. 

THE  SCOURGE  OP  CANADA 

Iroquois  Inhoads. — Death  op  Biknville.  —  English  Attaci 
A  DicsriouATK  rioiir.  —  iMif<i:iMi;s  of  tuk  Colony.  —  Ar.AiiMi 
A  WiNTKU  KxruDiTiov.  —  La  Ciiksnaye  mniNEn — Tiii;  IIkui 
OF  VKUciifcRES.  —  Mission  Indians.  —  '1'iie  Mohawk  KxikditI 

—  KetUKAT   and   rUIlSUlT.  —  KeLIKF   AHHIVES.  —  KUONTKNAC 
UMPHANT. 


One  of  Phips's  officers,  charged  with  the  oxcliai 
of  prisoners  at  Quebec,  said  as  he  took  his  Icaj 
"  We  shall  make  you  another  visit  in  the  spriiit^H 
and  a  French  officer  returned,  with  martijd  coiiitei 
"  We  shall  have  the  honor  of  meeting  you  Ixt 
^hat  time."     Neither  side  made  good  its  threat. 
both  were  too  weak  and  too  poor.     No  more  wi 
parties  were  sent  that  winter  to  ravage  the  Engl] 
border ;  for  neither  blankets,  clothing,  ammiiiiitij 
nor  food  could  be  spared.     The  fields  had  lain 
tilled  over  half  Canada ;  and,  though  four  ships 
arrived  with  supplies,  twice  as  many  had  been  cj 
tured  or  driven  back  by  English  cruisers  in 
Gulf     The  trc^ps  could  not  be  kept  together; 
they  were*  quartered  for  subsistence  upon  the 
tiers,  themselves  half  famished. 

Spring  came  at  length,  and  brought  with  it 


IROQUOIS   INROADS. 


287 


ows,  the  l)lnchird.s,  and  the  Iroquois.     They 

n'iv  came  in  winter,  when  the  trees  and  ))u.she3 

no  leaves  to  hide  them,  and  their  movements 

Hfre  betrayed  hy  the  track  of  their  snow-shoes; 

;; tli(y  were  always  to  he  e\'[)eeted  at  the   time 

.owing  and   of  harvest,   when   they  could    do 

t  mischief.    During  April,  ahout  eight  hundred 

them,  gathering    from    their    winter    hunting- 

^iiiiids,  encamped   at   tlie  mouth   of   tlie  (Jttawa, 

knee  they  det;u'h('(l  j);n'lic's  to  ravage  the  settle- 

^nts.   A  large  hand  fell  upon  Point  jiux  Trembles, 

^low  Montreal,  burned  some  thirty  houses,  and 

tiled  such  of  the  inmates  as  could  not  escape.    An- 

^tlierband  attacked  the  Mission  of  the  Mountain, 

«t  behind   the  town,  and  captured  thirty-five  of 

lie  liulian    converts   in   broad    daylight.     Others 

Irowled  among  the  deserted  farms  on  both  shores 

[the St.  Lawrence;  while  the  inhabitants  remained 

eiit  in  their  stockade  forts,  with  misery  in   the 

Irosent  and  starvation  in  the  future. 

Troops  and  militia  were  not  wanting.     The  dif- 

fcnlty  was  to  find  provisions  enough  to  enable  them 

I  keep  the  field.    By  begging  from  house  to  house, 

jetting  here  a  biscuit  and  there  a  morsel  of  bacon, 

|noug]i  was  collected  to  supply  a  considerable  party 

[)r  a  number  of  days ;  and  a  hundred  and  twenty 

ohliers  and  Canadians  went  out  under  Vaudreuil 

hunt  the  hunters  of  men.     Long  impunity  had 

lade  the  Iroquois  so  careless  that  they  were  easily 

)un(l.    A  band   of  about  forty  had. made  their 

[iiarters  at  a  house  near  the  fort  at  Repentigny, 

id  here  the  French  scouts  discovered  them  early 


# 


288 


THE  SCOURGE  OF  CANADA. 


in  the  night.    Vaudreuil  and  his  men  were  in  cj 
noes.     They  lay  quiet  till  one  o'clock,  then  liindic 
and  noiselessly  approached  the  spot.     Some  of  tlJ 
Iroquois  were  in  the  house,  the  rest  lay  asleep  oi 
the  ground  before  it.     The  French  crept  towardl 
them,  and   by  one  close  volley  killed    them  jij 
Their  comrades  within  sprang  up  in  dismay.  Tin 
rushed  out,  and  were  shot :  the  others  stood  on  tliej) 
defence,  fired  from  windows  and  loopholes,  aiij 
killed  six  or  seven  of  the  French,  who  prcsentlj 
succeeded  in  setting  fire  to  the  house,  which  ^vi 
thatched  with  straw.    Young  Francois  de  Bienville 
one  of  the  sons  of  Charles  Le  Moyne,  rushed  up 
a  Avindow,  shouted  his  name  like  an  Indian  warrioj 
fired  on  the  savages  within,  and  w^as  instantly  she 
dead.     The  flames  rose    till   surrounding  object 
were  bright  as  day.     The  Iroquois,  driven  to  dos 
peration,  burst  out  like  tigers,  and  tried  to  brea 
through  their  assailants.    Only  one  succeeded. 
his  companions,  some  were  shot,  five  were  knockej 
down  and  captured,  and  the  rest  driven  hack  iiit 
the  house,  where  they  perished  in  the  fire.    Tlir( 
of  the  prisoners  were  given  to  the  inhabitants 
Kepentigny,  Point  aux  Trembles,  and  Bouchervill 
who,  in  their  fury,  burned  them  alive.' 

For  weeks,  the  upper  parts  of  the  colony  woij 
infested  by  wolfish  bands  howling  around  the  foil 
which  they  rarely  ventured  to  attack.     At  leiigi 
help  came.    A  squadron  from  France,  strong  enom 

1  liclati'on  de  Btfnac,  1691 ;  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  pass^  de  jihts  cousii 
rahleen  Canada,  1G90,  1691 ;  La  Potlierie,  III.  134;  Relation  de  1G82-1II| 
Champiijnji  au  Minislre,  12  Moji,  1691.  The  name  of  Bienville  was  lake 
after  his  death,  by  one  of  his  brothers,  the  founder  of  New  Orleans. 


1»1. 


IROQUOIS   AND  ENGLISH. 


289 


(obeat  off  the  New  England  privateers  whieli  block- 
aded tlie  St.  Ltawrence,  arrived  at  Qnebec  with  men 
and  supplies ;  and  a  strong  force  was  despatched 
to  break  up    the    Iroquois  camp  at  the   Ottawa. 
The  enemy  vanished  at  its  approach  ;  and  the  suf- 
tering  farmers  had  a  brief  respite,  which  enabled 
tliem  to  sow  their  crops,  when  suddenly  a  fi'esh 
alarm  was  sounded   from   Surel   to  Montreal,  and 
again  the  settlers  ran  to  their  forts  for  refuge. 
Since  the   futile  effort  jof  the  year  before,  the 
Euglish  of  New  York,  still  distracted  by  the  politi- 
cal disorders  that  followed  the  usurpation  of  Leis- 
ler,  had  fought  only  by   deputy,   and    contented 
tlieinselves  with  hounding  on  the  Iroquois  against 
tlie  common  enemv.    These  sava^i^e  allies  at  len«:th 
lo^t  patience,  and  charged  their  white  neighbors 
widi  laziness  and  fear.     "  You  say  to  us,  ^  Keep  the 
French  in  perpetual  alarm.'     Why  don't  you  say, 
We  will  keep  the  French  in  perpetual  alarm'?"' 
It  was  clear  that  something  must  be  done,  or  New 
lork  would  be  left  to  fight  her  battles  alone.     A 
war-party  was  therefore  formed  at  Albany,  and  the 
|liidians  were  invited  to  join  it.    Major  Peter  Schuy- 
er  took  command ;  and  his  force  consisted  of  two 
iindred  and  sixty-six  men.  of  whom  a  hundred  and 
wenty  were  English  and  Dutch,  and  the  re^t  Mo- 
awks  and  Wolves,  or  Mohegans.^     He  advanced 
0  a  point  on  the  Richelieu  ten  miles  above  Fort 
hambly,  and,  leaving  his  canoes  under  a  strong 
Hard,  marched  towards  La  Prairie  de  la  Madeleine, 
pposite  Montreal. 


1  CoUlen.  125,  140. 

'  Olfnia.  J  .urnal  of  Schuyler,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.  800. 

19 


290 


THE  SCOURGE  OF  CANADA. 


Scouts  had  brought  Avarniug  of  his  approach •] 
and  Callieres,  the  local  governor,  crossed  tlic  St. 
Lawrence,  and  encamped  at  La  Prairie  Avith  seven 
or  eight  hundred  men.'     Here  he  remained  for  a 
week,  attacked  by  fever  and  helpless  in  bed.     The 
fort  stood  a  few  rods  from  the  river.     Two  battal-l 
ions  of  regulars  lay  on  a  field  at  the  right;  and  thel 
Canadians  and  Indians  were  bivouacked  on  the  loftJ 
between  the  fort  and  a  small  stream,  near  ^\hich| 
was  a  wdndmill.     On   the  evening  of  the  teiitli  of 
August,  a  drizzling  rain  began  to  fall ;  and  the  Can«| 
adians  thought  more  of  seeking  shelter  than  of 
keeping  watch.     They  were,  moreover,  well  sup- 
plied with  brandy,  and  used  it  freely.^    At  an  hoiu 
before  dawn,  the  sentry  at  the  mill  descried  objects 
like  the  shadows  of  men  silently  advancing  alonj 
the  borders  of  the  stream.     They  were  Schnyler'a 
vanguard.    The  soldier  cried,  "  Qui  vive  ? "    There 
was  no  answer.     He  fired  his  musket,  and  ran  intc 
the  mill.     Schuyler's  men  rushed  in  a  body  iipor 
the  Canadian  camp,  drove  its  occupants  into  the 
fort,  and  killed  some  of  the  Indian  allies,  who  hn 
imder  their  canoes  on  the  adjacent  strand. 

The  regulars  on  the  other  side  of  the  fort,  roused 
by  the  noise,  sprang  to  arms  and  hastened  to  the 
spot.  They  were  met  by  a  volley,  which  laid  soni^ 
fifty  of  them  on  the  ground,  and  drove  back  th^ 
rest  in  disorder.  They  rallied  and  attacked  again j 
on  which,  Schuyler,  greatly  outnumbered,  withdrew 
his  men  to  a  neighboring  ravine,  where  he  onc^ 

1  Relation  de  B/fnac;  Relation  de  1682-1712. 

2  "  La  ddbauohe  Cut  extreme  en  toute  mani^Te."    Belmont 


nooi.Hi«i.] 


rktp::vt  of  sciiuyler. 


201 


[more  ropulscd  his  assailants,  and,  as  be  declares, 
^rove  them  into  the  fort  with  great  loss.     By  this 
limcit  was  daylight.     The  English,  having  struck 
I  their  l)low,  slowly  fell  back,  hacking  down  the  corn 
the  iiclds,  as  it  was  still  too  green  for  burning, 
IjDfl  pausing  at  the  edge  of  the  w^oods,  where  their 
Indians  were  heard  for  some  time  uttering  fright- 
ful howls,  and  shouting  to  the  French  that  they 
lere  not  men,  but  dogs.     Why  the  invaders  wTre 
left  to  retreat  unmolested,  before  a  force  more  than 
kiblc  their  own,  does  not  appear.     The  helpleSvS 
confUtlon  of  Callieres  and  the  death  of  Saint-Cirque, 
Ife  second  in  command,  scarcely  sufhce  to  explain 
it,  Scluiyler  retreated  tow^ards  his  canoes,  moving, 
Ist  his  leisure,  along  the  forest  path  that  led  to 
lOiambly.     Tried  by  the  standard  of  partisan  war, 
|lii<  raid  had  been  a  success.    He  had  inflicted  great 
I  and  suffered  little ;  but  the  affair  was  not 
vet  ended. 

A  clay  or  two  before,  Yalrenne,  an  officer  of 
birth  and  ability,  had  been  sent  to  Chambly,  with 
put  a  hundred  and  sixty  troops  and  Canadians,  a 
ody  of  Huron  and  Iroquois  converts,  and  a  band 
|if  Algonqi  lins  from  the  Ottawa.     His  orders  were 
let  the   English  pass,  and  then  place  himself 
their  rear  to  cut  them  off  from  their  canoes. 
lis  scouts  had  discovered  their  advance ;  and,  on 
ke  morning  of   the   attack,  he  set  his  force  in 
(lotion,  and  advanced  six  or  seven  miles  towards 
Prairie,  on  the  path  by  which  Schuyler  was 
etreating.     The   country  was   buried   in  forests. 
ft  about  nine  o'clock,  the  scouts  of  the  hostile 


1 1 


292 


THE   SCOURGE   OF   CANADA. 


[Ui'.tl 


I 


parties  met  each  other,  anrl  their  war-wlioops  (ravei 
the  alarm.     Yalrenne  instantly  took  possession  of 
a  ridge   of  ground   that  crossed   the  vvjiy  uf   the 
approaching  English.     Two  large  trees  had  fallen 
along  the  crest  of  the  acclivity ;  and  behind  these 
the  French  crouched,  in   a,  triple  row,  well  liiddeiij 
by  bushes  and   thick   standing  trunks.     The  Eii'r.j 
llsh,  underrating  the  strength  of  their  enemy,  am 
ignorant  of  his  exact  position,  charged  inipetuouslvj 
and  were  sent  reeling  l)ack  by  a  close  and  deadb 
volley.     They  repeated  the  attack  with  still  grcatei 
fury,  and  dislodged   the  Fi'cnch  from  their  aiiibii* 
cade.      Then    ensued    a    fight,   which    Fronteiiac 
decLires  to  have  been  the  most  hot  and  stubljon 
ever  known   in  Canada.     The  object  of   Schuylei 
was  to  break   through  the  French  and  reach  hij 
canoes :   the  object  of  Valrenne  was  to  drive  him 
back  upon  the  superior  force  at  La  Prairie.    The 
cautious  tactics  of  the  bush  were  forgotten.     Three 
times   the   combatants  became   mingled   togetlRTJ 
firing  breast  to  breast,  and  scorching  eacli  other'j 
shirts  by  the  flash  of  their  guns.     The  Algonquin 
did  themselves  no  credit ;  and  at  first  some  of  tli^ 
Canadians  gave  way,  but  they  were  rallied  bv  L 
Ber  Duchesne,  their  commander,  and   afterwan 
showed  great  bravery.     On  the  side  of  the  I"hi>ili> 
many  of  the  Mohegan  allies  ran  off  ;  ])ut  the  whiu 
and  the  Mohawks  fought  with  equal  desperation 
In  the  midst  of  the  tumult,  Valrenne  was  perfectlj 
cool,  directing  his  men  with   admirable  vigor  ar 
address,  and  barring  Schuyler's  retreat  for  mon 
than  an  hour.     At  length,  the  French  were  driv( 


m] 


siTc'Kss  OF  scnrvi-KR. 


293 


from  tlio  path.  "  Wo  broke  tlironj!:!!  the  middle 
of  their  body,"  says  Srlmylcr,  ''  until  we  got  into 
thoir  roar,  trampling  upon  their  dead  ;  dien  faeed 
about  upon  them,  and  fought  them  nntil  we  m;ide 
tliem  give  way  ;  then  drove  them,  by  strengtb  of 
arm,  four  hundred  paces  before  us ;  and,  to  say 
the  truth,  we  were  all  glad  to  see  tliem  retreat."' 
Ho  and  his  followers  continued  their  march  nn- 
molestod,  carrying  their  wounded  men.  and  leaving 
sboiit  forty  dead  behind  them,  along  with  one  of 
their  (lags,  and  all  their  knnpsacks,  which  they  had 
[thrown  off  when  the  fray  began.  They  reached 
ithe  banks  of  the  T^ichelien,  fonnd  their  canoes  safe, 
and.  after  waiting  several  hours  for  stragglers,  em- 
I barked  for  Albany, 
Nothing  saved  them  from  destruction  but  the 
lilure  of  the  French  at  La  Prairie  to  follow  their 
[retreat,  and  thus  enclose  them  between  two  fires. 
They  did  so,  it  is  true,  at  the  eleventh,  houi*,  but  not 
till  the  fiffht  w\is  over  and  the  En<]:lish  w^ere  i^one. 
iTho  Christian  Mohawd^s  of  the  Saut  also  nppeared 
liii  the  afternoon,  and  set  out  to  pursue  the  enemy, 
Ikt  seem  to  have  taken  care  not  to  overtake  them  ; 
lor  the  English  Mohawks  were  their  relatives,  and 
[Hey  had  no  wish  for  their  scalps.  Frontenac  was 
kgry  at  their  conduct ;  and,  as  he  rarely  lost  an 
Ipportunity  to  find  fault  with  the  Jesuits,  he  laid 
|iie  blame  on  the  fathers  in  charge  of  the  mission, 
^hom  he  sharply  upbraided  for  the  shortcomings 
|f  their  flock.2 

^f>!)or  Prter  Srhin/lrr's  Jonrval  of  his  Expedition  to  Canada,  in  N,  IT, 
!«'.  Docs.  III.  800.     "  Les  piineinis  enforn'crent  notro  I'nibusca  le  '     Bel- 

ont, 

'^  A»  this  fieht  under  Valrenne.  has  been   roprespnted  as  a  French 


294 


THK  vSCOt'HtiK   OK   CANADA. 


|10!il 


Ilo  \v<\s  i\{  'riiriM'  Kiv(M'.s  {it  n   hjill  wlicn  iicwsofi 
tlio  (lisasl(M'  n(    \ii\    Vvim'w   djimiuMl    ilu«   N|)irijs  oj 
tho  coinp.'inv,  wliicli,   liowovor,  nvimh*  nooh  icviv,. 


hv   lidinii's  of    i\\o   (iiilit    uiultM'   N'nlnMiiu 


iiinl   ih 


rotiv.il  of  lli(^  I'lnolisli.  wlio  wdc  r('|)orl(Ml  In  li;ivi 
]oU    two   Inindnnl    dojul   on    IIk*    (icld.      KrniiU'ii.K 
\vro(t^  jni  Mcooiiiil  of  llu»  jilTnir  to  tlio  niiiiislcr,  wid 
high   praiso  of  \'nlnMiiu»  nnd  his  bjuid,  followed  h 
an    a|>p(\d    for    ludp.     ''  Wlial    willi    liii^liliii;^^  im 
hardship,  our  troops  and  nnlitia  an*  WiisliuL;  away, 


ik 


T\ 


\c  cwouw  is  n})on  ns  1)\  sea  and  land, 


SlM! 


us  a  thousand    nuMi   ni^xt.   s[)ring,  if    vou  nv;iii1   |1i< 


cohmv  to  ho  saviMl, 


\V 


(*  ar(»  jxMMsnnij;'  hv  luclics 


tho  ])ooplo  aro  in  tho  d(^|)ths  of  povort  v  ;  iIkmv; 
has  douhlod  prioos  so  that  nohod  v  can  liv(\"  '*  jAlnn 
faniihos  aro  without  hroad.     'V\\v  inhahilaiits  dcsi  ri 


\hv  oountrv.  and  orowd  into  tho  towns. 


A 


lit' 


ononij'  ap})oarod   in   tho  following  sunnnor,  ahiiusj 


viit<M'\  ng.dtist  oviM-wlii-lininii  otMs,  it   tn;iy  ho  wi-ll   to  ()1i.>>imv(>  tlic  i 
donco  !is  to  tho  juiiubors  (MmMi:oil.     Tho  l''roiu'h  party  oonsislcd,  !in 
ilig   to    Honao,   ol"    KU)   ro^uhus   aiul    ("anailians,    hosidos    liiiii;ms.    _ 
Potliorio  phu-Ov"*  it  at   TSO  inon,  aiiil    FrontoiiMo  at  L'OO  iiumi.     'liiix'  hti 
ostiniatosdo  not  inohnlo  Iwdians  ;  for  tho  author  of  tho  Kolation  of  1(>3 
171-.  who  was  an  otlii'or  on  tlio  spot   at  tiio   tinio,  puts  t!io  uumlui 
8(X">  soldiors.  rauiuliaus,  aiul  savaj;i's. 

Sohuylor's  otlioial  roturn  shows  that  his  party  oonsisted  of  I'JO  white 
80  Mohawks,  and  lU)  Kivor  liuhans  (Mohoirans) :  'Jdil  in  all.  Tho  Fivncj 
writer  Uonao  plaoos  tho  \\lu)lo  at 'JSt),  and  tiio  intondant  flKuniu^'y  I 
^00.  Tho  othor  Froni'h  ostiniatos  of  tlu>  Kntilish  fore;*  aro  pioatly  ix.ij 
geratod.  Sohuylor's  stronirtli  was  roduoi'd  hy  27  nion  lott  to  j^inuu  ti| 
canoes,  and  by  a  nnnibor  killed  or  disabled  at  La  I'rairie.  Tho  tor 
under  Valrenne  was  additional  to  the  700  or  SOO  nun  at  L;i  Pniiii 
(lidotioji.  U>S*J-17rJ).  Sehuyler  reported  his  loss  in  killed  at  21  wliii< 
16  Mohawks,  and  0  Mohi^gans,  besides  many  wountled.  Tho  rivii^ 
statements  of  it  are  enormously  in  excess  of  this,  and  are  irroLHiiii'il;ib 
with  each  other. 

1  Lctlres  df  Frontenac  ct  dc  ClHimpi</iiy,  IGOl,  1G'J2. 


luiiaHi«ii-!t'.| 


A   HADKAIi  ("UIIIO. 


lil)5 


I'll   nrws  (){| 

'   spiiils  oj 
on  revive 
\v   :ui(l   t1i( 
(m1  to  Ii;i\( 
I'ronUMiiK 
uislcr,  u'nl 
oHowimI  lij 
Li'liliiiLi'  aiu 
tinjj;  :i\v;iy.' 
1."'     -SiMM 
lU  \v;iul  \\\i 
o;  1)V  iiu'lii>s| 

it  Mills  (It'sr 
;."  '  A  ur 
liner,  almusj 

ollMM'VO    (ho   I' 

fonsistod,  accor 
U's    liniiiuis. 
>UM1.      'I'lu'x'  t^lj 
Kt'liition  of  lt;s3 
8  t!>o  miuil'ir 

St  0(1  of  VJOwhita 

all.     The  I'roacj 

ml  riKUni>i^ii,v 

•u-o  pi-oMtly  I'xa 

Ictt  to  ^iKini  tl| 

'rairio.     'I'l'^' '"''" 

u'li  at   l>:i  rniiij 

iWWd  at  '1\  wliiH 

1  are  irrocitiKiuib 


j.^  (Icslrnclive  ns  (li(»  Iiotjiiois.  TliiH  \v(is  jin 
jniiN  ol  (Niloi'pilliirM,  \vlii<'li  hcI.  iii  niMi^lit  tlio 
niiilcdiclioiiM  of  lli(»  ('I(M';;y,  niid  iiiimIc  ^rc.'ii  linvo(^ 
aiiKiii;;"  ilic  crops.  It  is  recorded  (luii  iilon^ 
with  llie  ejiierpilliirs  eiiiiH>  jin  mipreeedcnlecl 
niulliliide  of  ,s(jiiii"rels,  wliieli,  ln'iii;:,'  indiish'ioiisly 
ini|)|)(Ml  or  sliof.,  proveil  a  |j;rejil,  li('I|)  lo  iiuuiy 
(iiiiiilies. 

Alarm  folIo\ve(l  alnrin.  If,  vvms  reported  lliat 
Plii|)s  Nvns  benloii  reven;i,'e  forliis  liile  diseoiiifit.iii-e, 
tliiil  Li,i(\'ii  Mriniiinenls  weri*  jd'ool,  jnid  (luii  Ji  iiii;j,lity 
liosi  of  "  nostonnais  "  was  prepaiiii^^'  jmolher  d(;- 
jtviil.  A<;aiii  and  aLi,ain  Froiileiiae  l)e;j,'^'ed  lluit 
OIK' hold  blow  should  bo  siriiek  lo  (Mid  lliesi;  jXMil.s 
ami  make  Kin^ii;  Louis  master  of  the  eonliiieni,  by 
Ji'siialehiiiLi;  a,  Heet  to  seizes  N(;w  York.  If  thin 
wtivdone,  he  said,  it,  would  \n\  easy  io  taki;  IJosloii 
aiiiUhe ''  rebels  and  old  republican  leaven  of  Crom- 
woll"  wlio  harbored  there  ;  then  burn  the  place, 
ami  utterly  destroy  it.'  Yilh^bon,  fz;overnoi'  of 
.kulia,  was  of  the  same  mind.  "  No  town,"  ho 
told  the  minister, '"•  coukl  be  bin-ned  more  easily. 
JlosI  of  the  houses  are  covered  w  ith  shingles,  and 
the  streets  are  very  narrow."  ^  But  the  king  could 
not  spare  a  s({uadron  e((ual  to  the  attempt ;  and 
Frouteiiac  was  told  that  he  must  wait.  The  troops 
aMit  him  dkl  not  supj)ly  his  losses.^  Money  came 
every  summer  in  sums  which  now  seem  small,  but 

ere  far  from  being  so  in  the  eyes  of  the  kmg, 

1  Frontonac  in  A^.  Y.  Col.  Dors.,  IX.  4'tG,  506. 

2  Villobon  in  A^.  Y.  Col.  Dors.,  IX.  507. 

3  The  returns  show  1,313  regulars  in  IGOl,  and  1,120  in  1692 


200 


riiK  sr(MiU(;r,  or  canada. 


|in!)i.fl4H|f|.iv(.) 


\\\\o  joiiUMl   (()   ri\r\\   \\']\\\\\i\ucr  n  Icclnri*  on  o(M)n« 
oinv  Miiil  M   w.'irnini''  MLrniiisf,  cxtnivniriincc .' 


Tlio    inhMidiint.    imvhmmmI    his   sliiii'c*   of   hi 


inic  onl 


llioso  occasions,  :nnl  lio  iisii;illy  (li'loiKli'd  liimselfj 
vigorously.  Wo  lidls  Iiis  iumsIim' lluit  '*  wjir-partio 
nro  lUMTssnry,  bill  \ov\  c\\)v\\s]\{\  Wo  rnrciv  pai 
nuxiUM-  ;  hill  wo  imisl  o-ivo  ])rosoM(s  lo  our  Iiidiaiiv 
nuH  (it  out  \ho  ('jiu;i(li;nis  with  provisions,  Mnii 
niuiuunition.  nioooMsons.  snow-shoos,  slodii^os,  cnnoo 
cjipoU^s.  hroindu^s.  sloolunu's,  mid  hhinkots.  Tliij 
costs  a  o'l'oaf  dojil.  hul  without  it  wo  should  Imvi 
to  ahandiui  Canadji."  TIk*  kiuij:  ooiuj)lain(Ml  tJiat 
"whilo  tho  ii;roat  sums  ho  was  spondin^-  in  thocolom 
turuod  to  iho  profit  of  llio  inhahitauls,  llu»y  coiiJ 
trihutiMl  nothiu^'  to  thoir  own  doronoe.  Tlio  coiiiJ 
plaint  was  soaroolv  just  ;  I'or.  if  thov  ii'Jivo  no  iiioni^v 
thov  L!:avo  tlioir  hlood  with  sulVioiont  roadiiu'ss 
Exoo])tini2:  a  fow  niorohants,  thov  had  iiothiim'  vV 
to  u'ivo  ;  and,  in  tho  voars  wlion  tlio  fur  trado  ^v; 
out  otV.  thov  livod  ohiotiv  on  tho  nay  thov  rocoivei 


for 


'PI 


1 


SilDOlVniil 


tho  ti 


d   otl 


roops  and   othor  publio  sorviivs. 


bh 


Far  from  boiui;'  ablo  to  support  tho  war,  tlioy  U)okei 
to  tho  war  to  support  tlioiu.- 


»  r^-ttrrs  du  Eoji  ct  dit  Minisirr,  1(V.)0-1()04.  In  10'.)! .  tlu>  iiUKUin 
allowed  tor  «-.r/r«or<//«(//r(\<  dc  aui nr  was  •,•'.>. 000  livros  {/rancs).  In  Wi 
it  was  I'.^J'.OOO  Hvros,  a  part  of  wliioli  was  lor  fortitii'atioiis.  Iiitliofii 
lowinjr  year,  no  Kss  than  7o(\000  livros  wore  drawn  for  (^anada,  "{Tqi| 
lie  so  ]iourroit  pas  supporter,  si  lola  continnoit  ilo  la  niesnie  foroo,"  writa 
the  minister.  ([.<'  Ministry  «  Frotitciuic,  13  Mars,  lGi)4.)  This  Lu^t  suij 
probably  inohidod  tho  pay  of  the  troo]>s. 

'^  "  Sa  Majoste'  fait  doinns  plusiciirs  annt^os  dos  sacrifices  inniioiiscsi 
Canada.     L'avantajie  on  doineuro  prosqne  tout  entier  an  })rolit(lesi 
bitans  et  des  marohands  qui  y  resident.     Cos  do'pensos  se  font  pmirltt 
fccuret^  et  pour  letir  conservation.     II  est  juste  que  ceux  qui  son!( 
estat  seoourent  le  public."     Mcmoire  du  lioi/,  WX6.     '*  Les  habitant  >U 


im'.)i-iuH|i-'»-] 


ALAIiMS. 


207 


(»  on  (.M'on. 


The  woi'k   of   forlifyiiSL:;   llu*   vilnl    poinls  of   tlio 

|(f!ony,  (Jiu'hcc,  'riircc   Kivcrs,  jiiid    Monlrciil,  nv 

[Yivctl  consljmf  slimiiliis  from  \\\v  Jiliniisof  ntluck, 

iiltovc    nil,    from    ;i    groundless    icport,    ilnit 

^ntlioiisjuid  "  l^)sloiniiiis  "  Imd  sjiiicd  for  (,^n('l)('(\ 

le  sessions  of  lii(»  council  were  snspendecl,  jind 
|e  councillors  seized  pick  nnd  spjide.  Tlie  old 
^fciicrs  of  llie  place  were  reconslrucliMl  on  Ji  n<nv 
iiii,  iiinde  hy  ihv.  greal.  en<;'ineer  Vjiuhan.  The 
lettlcrs  were  inuslei'cd  loi^'elher  from  a  disljUKH*  of 

ireiily  leji«j;u(\s,  jind  eouijxdied   lo  Inhor,  willi  litllo 

: no  pay,  (ill  a  lin(^  of  solid  (Nirlliworks  (Miclosed 
n.r  from  ('a[)e  Diamond  lo  llie  St.  Cliarles. 
(!ii\v  Ivivers  and  Montreal  were  jdso  HtrongUiened. 

lie  cost  exceeded  (Ik^  eslimaioSj  and  drew  upon 
[rDiitiMiae  and  (Miani})igny  fresh  ji(hnonitioiis  from 
Fersiilles.* 


fmw  lie  contrihiuMif   v\\  ricn  h,  tout  co  que  Sii  M:ij<.'Ht(5  fjiit  ])our  Icur 
irvatiuii,  pi'udaut  (iiu>  si's  Hiijits  du   Uoyauiue  doiUK'ut  tout  co  qu'ila 
;mm' son  sorvici.'."     /^r  Mim'slrr  a  FrontftKir,  \',]  ,]f(iis,  1(51)4. 
^I/lirisifn   Ixoji  vt  (hi  Miuistrc,  \(VX.\,  \{\\)\.     ('jipc  Diamond  wfiR  now 

fJieliisl  time  included  wiiiiin  tiie  line  of  cireiunvallation  lit  (inebcc. 

|i;riiii;;  slono  redoubt,  with  ^<ix(el•n  ennnon,  was  liuilt  upon  its  Hunimit. 
InlS'il.iu  deinolisliiu},'  a  part  of  tlie  old  wall  bi'lween  the  fort  of 
iKc  iiiid   the  adjacent  "  (lovernor's  (iarden,"u  plate  of  copi)er  was 

iii<!  will)   a   Latin    inscrii)iion,  of  wliicii  the  following  is  a  Iransla- 

iii  the  year  of  Grace,  Id!);',  under  the  reign  of  the  Most  August, 
N  Inviiicilile,  and  Most  Christian  King,  Louis  llie  Great,  J'\)urtcent!i 
jtliiit  naiiic.  the  Most  I'.xcellent  and  Most  Illustrious  Lord,  Louis  de 
pli',  Count  of  Fronlcnac,  twice  Viceroy  of  all  New  France,  after 
[Tiiig  three  years  before  repulsed,  routed,  and  completely  conquered 
Welteilious  inhabitants  of  New  England,  who  besieged  this  town  of 
lebociniil  who  threatened  to  renew  their  attack  this  year,  constructed, 
Ithe  charge  of  the  king,  this  citadel,  with  the  fortifications  therewith 
Voted,  lor  the  defence  of  the  country  and  the  safety  of  the  people, 
iinr  confounding  yet  again  a  people  perfidious  towards  God  and  to- 
f(is  its  lawful  king.     And  he  luis  laid  this  first  btone." 


li'JS 


TlIK  SCOUUGE  OF  CANADA. 


[1001  5 


Tlio   bounties  on  .sciil[)s  jind   prisoners  wvw  m 
otlior  occasion  of  royal  conij)laiiit.    TwiMit y  crow 
lijid  IxHMi  olTored  for  each  male  while  jM'isonci',  (e| 
crowns  for  each  female,  and   ten  crowns  for  (>:\q\ 
iscalj),  whether  Indijin  or  KnL;Tish.'     The  homitv 
prisoners  ])rodueed   an   excellent   result,  siiuf  i] 
titeud  of  killing  them  the  Indian  allies  learned 
bring    them    to  Quebec.      If    children,  they  w^ 
placed  in  the  convents;  and,  if  adults,  they  wo( 
distributed    to    labor    among    the    settlers.     Tin 
though  the   royal  letters   show    that   the   inca.si 
was   one   of    policy,    it   acted    in    the   interest 
humanity.     It   was   not   so    with    the    bounty 
scalps.     The  Abenaki,   Huron,  and   Iroi^uois  c( 
verts  brought  hi  many  of  them  ;  but  grave  doul 
arose   whether  they  all  came  from  the   heads 
enemies.-     The  seal])  of  a  Frenchman  was  not  di 
thiguishable  from  tlie  seal})  of  an  Englisl'uian.  a 
could  be  liad  with  less   trouble.     Partly  for  tl 
reason,  and  partl}^  out  of  economy,  the  king  uuj 
it  as  his  belief  that  a  bounty  of  one  crown  \vj 
enough  ;  though  the  governor  and   the  intends 
linited  m  declaring  that  the  scalps  of  the  wlic 
Iroquois  confederacy  would  be  a  good  bargain 
his  Majesty  at  ten  crowns  apiece.^ 

The  river  Ottawa  was  the  main  arterv  of  Caiiai 
and  to  stop  it  was  to  stop  the  flow  of  her  life  Idod 
The  Iroquois  knew  this  ;  and  their  constant  oll'ij 

1  C/Kinipiipij/  ail  Miiiistir,  21  Sept.,  1G92. 

2  liilation  ih'  1082-1712. 

3  Memoire  da  Roi/ dux  Sieiirs  Fronienac  et  Chumpigmj,  ICOo ;  F)\m 
et  Chai!ipi(jiii/  au  Minlstre,  4  Xov.,  1G9.'].  The  bounty  on  prisoners' 
roducod  in  the  same  proportion,  showing  that  economy  was  tlieclj 
object  of  the  change. 


A    WLNTKU   KXPHDITloN. 


299 


11^  to  (lose  it  Ko  ('oiii|)l(Jtely  tlial  the  Jiiimial  supply 
jlu'Mver  skins  would  b(3  proventc(l  from  |)iis.sin^, 
111,1 1 1 K' colony  Iju  coin|)('il('(l  lo  live  on  credit.  It 
11.  llicir  habit  to  s[)(Mii1  (In;  laltcr  part  of  tho 
Ifiiitci  in  hunting  anionu,-  the  forests  Ix'tween  the 
[i;i;i\va  and    the    up[)ei'   St.    liiiwrence,  and   then, 

11  the  ice  broke  up,  to  move  in  lar<^e  l)ands  to 
le banks  of  the  former  .stream,  and  lie  in  ambush 

the  Chaudiere,  the  Long  Saut,  or  other  favor- 
k'|KMnts,  to  waylay  the  [)assin<j;  canoes.     On  the 

('{■  \vA\u\,  it  was  the  constant  effort  of  Frontenac 

iliive   them   oil'  and  keej)    the   river  open;  an 
most  impossible  task.     Ahmy  contlicts,  great  and 

all,  look  place  with  various  results ;  but,  in  .spite 
( LVCMy  etrort,  the  Iroquois  blockade  was  main- 
iiid  more  than  two  years.  TJie  story  of  one  of 
('expeditions  made  by  the  French  in  this  quarter 
ill  show  the  hardship  of  the  service,  and  the 
oral  and  physical  vigor  which  it  demanded. 
Early  in  February,  three  hundred  men  under 
lorvilliors  were  sent  by  Frontenac  to  surprise  the 
oi]uois  in  their  hunting-grounds.  When  they 
ere  ii  few  days  out,  their  leader  scalded  his  foot 
I  the  upsetting  of  a  kettle  at  their  encampment 
ar  Lake  St.  Francis;  and  the  connnand  fell  on 
} until  named  Beaucour,  an  o dicer  of  regulars, 
eoinplished  as  an  engineer,  and  known  for  his 
lislied  wit.  The  march  through  the  sno\v-clogged 
rest  Avas  so  terrible  that  the  men  lost  heart. 
amis  and  feet  were  frozen ;  some  of  the  Lidians 
ifiised  to  proceed,  and  many  of  the   Canadians 

;ed  behind.     Shots  were  heard,  .showing  that 


:  M 


300 


TIIK    S((MII{(;K    of  CANADA. 


\U 


«M\  111 

siic 


llio  oncMnv  wvvv  nol  far  olT  ;  Iml.  coM,  Inm 
fnlisj^iu'  hud  ovorcoMM'  llu*  (•oiini'j.c  ol"   the  pm 
nnd    llic    voiniL!;   ('(MniH!iinl«M*  .siiw   his   I'oIIowim-s 
till*    |>oiiil    of   (l(*s(»rlin,i;'    liiin.      lit'  (mIKmI   |li 


('111 


giMlior,  iHid  hnrMn!j;ii(Ml  IIkmii  in  Icrms  so  jinim.ifii 
tliJif   ihoy  (\'nii;'li(    liis  spii'if,  mikI   !«i;jnn   piislicil 
For   four  lionrs   iiiori*   llicy   followiMl    I  Ik*   1  nicks 
iho  li'0((iiois  sno\v-sli()(»s.  till  tlu^v  found  lli(»s;i\;ii 
in  ihc'w  l)ivou;i(',  si^l  upon  IIumii,  and   UUKmI  ore; 
hn'tM]  nt\irlv  nil.     TIkm-c  was  a  l^'rcnch  slave  amor 
tluMn.  si'arci'lv  disliniiaiisliahK*  from  Ins  owikms, 
was  an  olVicin'  namcMl  Tii\  Plaidc  lak^n  al  La  CJiij 
h(»for(\      "  ![(»  would   lia\o   been  killj 
savs  La.  lloiilan,  '*  if  Uc  had 


wcc  \oars 


like  his  niaslor 

(M'iod  (Uil  wilh  all  his  nii^ht, '  JZ/Nr/'/Vor^/c,  .s^ 


iin\ 


' '      InNUU'onr  hrouiilit  h 
prisonors  to  (.Jui'hec,  whore*  Krontonao  ordcivd  \\\i 
two  of  thoni  slionld  ho  hurnod.      Ono  slahhcd  hi 
solf  in  prison;  thootluM*  was  (ortui    ^  hy  tho  Cliri 
tian   Hurons  on    Ca])0    Dianiontl,  dofyinu,*  lluMii 
the  last.      Nor  was    this  tho  onlv  instanoo  of  sue 
fearful  reprisal.    In  the  same  year,  a  nunihor  ol  h'( 
quoiseaptured  by  Vaudrenil  were  burned  at  Mo^ 
treal  at  the  demand  of  the  Canadians  and  tho  mis^i 
Indians,  who  insisted  that  tlu^ir  eruelties  should 
paid  baok  in  kind.      It  is  said  that  the  purposowi 
answered,   and    the   h'oijuois  deterred   for  a  wh 
from   tortunng  their  eaptives.^ 

The  brunt  of  the  war  fell  on  the  upper  half 

1  L.1  Potliorie.  III.  156  ;   Rilafion  dc  cp  qui  s'est  pass(f  dc  "lus  emit 
nUeeu  Couculn,  1601.  1(V.»2  ;  La  Hontan,  I.  2;53. 
^  Eelaiion,  168:2-1712. 


STATI-;   OK    11  IK   COLONY. 


;(ii 


I'lil 


Mn\-.     TIk*  cnimlrN  .'ihotit   M(Milr(';iI,  i\\\(\  for 

5iilv  II  liiitidiMMl  miles  l)('|(»\v  it,  \v;is  ciisily  juuu'.ssi- 

10  I  lie  Ij()<jU()i,M  hy  (lie  roiilcs  of    Luke   Cli.iinp- 

0  ;iinl     tllC     upper    St.     liMNVICIKM}  ;     \\\\'\\{\     Ix'loNV 

ri'c   Ilivci'M   the   settlements   wert^   loler.ihly  snfo 
Ill  their  iiieiirsions,  niid  were;  exposcil  to  Jittiick 
,lv  from    file    Kn^lisli   of    New    KM<;Ian(l,   vvlio 
mill  molest.   \\\v\n    only    by  sjiilin;^    up    from   tlie 
if  in    force.      Hence    the  setllei's    remnined    on 
ir  fiirniH,  and   followed   their  usnjd   occu|);ilionM, 
fopl    when     I'^rontenjic    drnfled    them    foi'    war- 
tics.      Above    Three  IJivers,  their  condition  was 
y  different.      A  trjivelJcr  passin<^  thron;^h  thin 
jfni"  Canada  would  have  found  the  houses  (Mupty. 
irimd  there  he  would  have  seen  all  the  inhahi- 
is  of   a    parish    lahorinii;    in    a,    field    t();^cHher, 
aldird  hy   sentinels,    and    <i;enerally   guardefl    by 
qiuul  of   re«^ulars.      When   one   field  was  tilled, 
ey  passed  to  the  next ;  and  this  connnunal  process 
M'epoated  when  the  harvest  was  ripe.    At  ni;^ht, 
ey  took   refu<^e  in  the  fort  ;   that  is  to  say,  in  a 
>ter  of   log  cabins,   surrounded    by  a   palisade. 
iiu'tlmes,  when  long  exemption  from  attac^k  had 
iholdcned    them,   they   ventured    hack    to  their 
rm-iiouscs,    an    experiment   always    critical    and 
iiiotinies  fatal.     Thus  the  people  of  La  Chesnaye, 
getting  a  sharp  lesson  they  had  received  a  year 
two  before,  returned  to  their  homes  in  fancied 
urity.     One  evening  a  bachelor  of   the   parish 
fie  a  visit  to    a  neighboring  widow,   bringing 
ith  him  his  gun  and  a  small  dog.     As  he  Avas 
king  hi'j  leave,  his  hostess,  whose  husband  had 


302 


TIiK   SrOUHGE   OF  C.WADA. 


[1« 


J^ 


been    killcMl   tlic    year  before,   tolcl  lilm   flint  si 
was  afraid  to   be  left  alone,  and  begged  ],},y| 
remain  with  ber,  an  invitation  wbieh  be  acccptc 
Towards  morning,  Ibe  barking  of  bis  dog  rouse 
him ;  when,  going  out,  he  saw  the  night  lighted 
by  the  blaze  of  burning  houses,  and  heard  tlio  iisi 
firing  and  screeching  of  an  Iroquois  attack, 
went  back  to  his  frightened  companion,  who  al 
had  a  gun.     Placing  himself  at  a  corner  of  t| 
house,  he  told  her  to  stand  behind  him.    A  luiinb 
of  Iroquois  soon  appeared,  on  wdiicli  he  fired 
them,   and,   taking    her   gun,   repeated   the  sh^ 
giving  her  his  own  to  load.    The  warriors  retiirni 
his  fire  from  a  safe  distance,  and  in  the  mornir 
n^ifbdrew  altogether,  on  wdiich  tlie  pair  emerge 
from  their  shelter,  and  succeeded  in  reaching  tl 
fort.     The    other   inhabitants   were    all  killed 
captured.' 

Many  incidents  of  this  troubled  time  are  pr 
served,  but  none  of  them  are  so  well  worth  t| 
record  as  the  defence  of  the  fort  at  Verchcres 
the  young  daughter  of  the  seignior.     Many  veai 
hiter,  the    Marquis  de   Beauharnais,  governor 
Canada,  caused  the  story  to  be  written  down  froj 
the  recital  of  the  heroine  herself.     Verchcres  wj 
on   the  south  shore  of   the  St.  Lawrence,  aboj 
twentv  miles  below   Montreal.     A  stroni]^  blocl 

c/  Or 

house  stood  outside   the  fort,  and  was  connect^ 
with  it  by  a  covered  way.     On  the  morning  of  t| 
twenty-second  of  October,  the  inhabitants  were 
vrork  in  the  fields,  and  nobody  was  left  in  the  plaj 
but  two  soldiers,  two  boys,  an  old  man  of  eiglitj 

1  Relation.  1682-1712. 


TIIK    riEROiXE   OF   VERCIliiRES. 


303 


In  number  of  women  and  children.     The  seig- 
r.  formerly  an  olTicer  of  the  regiment  of  Carig- 
,\vns  on  duty  at  Quebec  ;  his  wife  was  at  Mont- 
:  iind  their  daughter  Madeleine,  fourteen  years 
(iL^e,  was  at  the  landing-place  not  far  from  the 
tof  the  fort,  with  a  hired  man  named  Laviolette. 
(lenly  she  heard  firing  from  the  direction  where 
settlers  were  at  work,  and   an  instant  after 
olette   cried   out,  "  Run,   Mademoiselle,   run ! 
le  come  the  Iroquois !  "      She  turned  and  saw 
vor  lifty  of  them  at  the  distance  of  a  pistol- 
it.   "I  ran  for  the  fort,  commending  myself  to 
Holy  Virgin.     The  Iroquois  who  chased  after 
.  seeing   that  they  could    not  catch  me   alive 
[ore  I  reached  the  gate,  stopped  and  fired  at  me. 
le  bullets  whistled  about  my  ears,  and  made  the 
e  seem  very  long.      As   soon  as   I  was  near 
iiidi  to  be  heard,  I  <  ried  out,  To  arms  !  to  arms  ! 
ping  that  somebody  would  come  out  and  help 
:  but  it  was  of  no  use.     The  two  soldiers  in  the 
irt  Avere  so  scared  that  they  had  hidden  in  the 
khoiise.     At   the   gate,   I   fomid    t\70  women 
iiig  for    their   husbands,    who   had    just   been 
1(1.     I  made  them  go  in,  and  then  shut  the 
te.    I  next  thought  wdiat  I   could  do  to  sa/e 
^vself  and  the  few  people  w^ith  me.     I  went  to 
pect  the  fort,  and  found  that  several  palisades 
(1  fallen  down,  and  left  openings  by  which  the 
emy  could  easily  get  in.     I  ordered  them  to  be 
up  again,  and  helped  to  carry  them  myself. 
en  the  breaches  were  stopped,  I  went  to  the 
ckhousj  w^here   the    ammunition  is  kept,  and 


'604 


THE   SCOURGE  OF  CANADA. 


[m 


here    I   found   tho   two  soldiers,   one    lildiun;  in 
conuM',  juid  tlio  ollior  with  m   li;;'li(od   injilcli  in  |j 
liaiid.     '  What    nvo    you    i;"oinL!;    lo    do    with   ih 
lujitoh?'     I    askod.       lie    answered,     '  Li«;lit 
powder,   jind    blow    us   all    up.'     '  You  are  a  mij 
viable   eoward,'  said    l.'go  out  oi'   (his  plaoo.' 
►spoke  so  resolutely  that  he  obeyed.     1  then  IhroJ 
olT   my  bonnet;  and,  after  putting  on  a  hat  ai 
taking  a  gun,  1  said  to  my  two  brothers:  '  Let 
fight  tothedejith.    We  are  fighting  for  our  eounl] 
and  our  religion.     l\eniend)er  that  our  fatluT  h 
tauo'ht    vou  that  mnitlemen  are  born  to  shed  th« 
blood  for  the  service  of  (mxI  and  (he  king.'  " 

The  bovs,  who  were  twelve  and  ten  v^^^ars  oli 
aided  bv  the  soldiei'S,  whom  her  words  had  It 
spired  with  some  little  courage,  began  to  lire  koi 
the  loopholes  upon  (be  Iroipiois,  who,  ignorant 
tho  weakness  of  the  garrison,  showed  their  iisi 
reluctance  to  attack  a  fortilied  place,  and  occiipi^ 
themselves  Avitli  chasing  and  butchering  (ho  \\i 
pie  in  the  neighboring  fields.  Madeleine  ordoivd 
cannon  to  be  fired,  partly  to  deter  the  eneinv  froj 
an  assault,  and  partly  to  w  arn  some  of  the  soldiii 
who  were  hunting  at  a  distance.  The  woiiu  ii  ;i[ 
children  in  the  fort  cried  and  screamed  witlioi 
ceasing.  She  ordered  then:  to  stop,  lest  ik 
terror  should  eneonrai2:e  the  Indians.  A  canoe  \vj 
presently  seen  ajiproaching  the  landlng-plaoe. 
was  a  settler  named  Fontaine,  trying  to  reach  li 
fort  with  his  family.  The  Iroquois  were  still  110;;; 
and  Madeleine  feared  that  the  new  comers  woi 
be  killed,  if  something  wore  not  (lone  to  aid  tlieij 


m 


TIW.    IIKKOINK   OK    VKUriif<:iiKS. 


n()5 


^li(>  Mppojvlod  to  11k'  soldiers,  l)ni  ihv'w  vinwwp;^  wa« 
LotiMHial  lo  i\w  iilhMiipt;  on  which,  jis  sho  (lui'Ijircs, 
ji'lcr  halving  Ljiviolette  to  kccj)  wntch  nt  the  gate, 
jlie  Iiorself  went  alone   to  the   landing-place.      "I 
Itlioiioht  that  the  savages  would   sn|)pose   it  to  he 
la  ruse  to  draw  them  towards  th(»  lort,  in  order  to 
nnko  a  sortie  npon   them.     They  did  suppose*  so, 
liinl  thus   I  was  ahle   to  save  the   Fontaine  family. 
hriien  they  were  all   landed,  1    made   them  march 
liefore  me  in  full  s'ght  of  the  enemy.     We  put  so 
Ww  M  face  on  it,  that  they  thought  i\\cy  had  rnqrc 
to  (oar  than  we.     StrenL!'<hened  hv  this  reinforce- 
ment,  I  ordered  that  the  enemy  should  he  fired  on 
plu'iicver  they  sIiowxmI   themselves.     After  sunset, 
a  violent  north-cast  wind   hegan    to   hlow,  accom- 
panied with  snow^  and   hail,  which  told    us  that  we 
blidiild  have  a   terrihle  night.     The   Iro(ju()is  were 
all  this   time   lurking  ahoutiis;  and  1   judged   hy 
Itlieir  movements  tljat,  instead  of  heing  deterred  hy 
Itlie  stoi-m,  they  would  clind)   into  the  fort  under 
jcovor  of  the  darkness.      I  assemhled  idl  my  troops, 
lliat  is  to  say,  six  persons,  and  spoke  to  t  hem  thus : 
'God  has  saved    us  to-day  i'rom    the   hands  of   our 
piiemics,  hut  w'e   ninst   take   care  not   to   fall   into 
llieir  snares   to-night.     As  for  me,  I  want  you  to 
ee  that  I  am  not  afraid.     1  ay  ill   take   charge   of 
[lie  fort  with  an  old  man  of  eighty  and  another  who 
per  tired  a  gun ;  and  you,  Pierre  Fontaine,  with 
iiiBonte  and  Oachet  (our  two  soldiers),  will  go  to 
lie  blockhouse  with  the  women  and  childi'en,  be- 
luse  that  is  the  strongest  place  ;  and,  if  I  am  taken, 
[on't  surrender,  even  if  I  am  cut  to  pieces  and 

20 


306 


THE   SCOURGE   OF  CANADA. 


\\m\ 


burned  before  your  eyes.  The  enemy  cannot  hurt 
you  in  tlie  blockhouse,  if  you  make  the  least  show 
of  fight.'  I  placed  my  young  brothers  on  two  of 
the  bastions,  the  old  man  on  the  third,  and  I  tool 
the  fourth ;  and  all  night,  in  spite  of  wind,  mo\\\ 
and  hail,  the  cries  of  '  All's  well '  were  kept  uj 
from  the  blockhouse  to  the  fort,  and  from  the  fort 
to  the  blockhouse.  One  w^ould  have  thought  that 
the  place  was  full  of  soldiers.  The  Iroquois  thought 
so,  and  were  completely  deceived,  as  they  confessec 
afterwards  to  Monsieur  de  Callieres,  whom  thei 
told  that  they  had  held  a  council  +o  make  a  plai 
for  capturing  the  fort  in  the  night  but  had  don^ 
nothing  because  such  a  constant  watch  w^as  kept. 

"  About  one  in  the  morning,  the  sentinel  on  tli( 
bastion  by  the  gate  called  out,  '  Mademoiselle, 
hear  something.'    I  w^ent  to  him  to  find  what  ii 
was ;  and  by  the  help  of  the  snow,  which  coverec 
the  ground,  I  could   see  through  the  darkness 
number  of  cattle,  the  miserable  remnant  that  the 
Iroquois  had  left  us.     The  others  wanted  to  opei 
the  gate  and  let  them  in,  but  I  answered :  '  God 
forbid.     You  don't  know  all  the  tricks  of  the  sav« 
ages.    They  are  no  doubt  following  the  cattle,  cov^ 
ered  with  skins  of  beasts,  so  as  to  get  into  the  fort 
if   w^e  are  simple  enough   to   open  the   gate  fo^ 
them.'    Nevertheless,  after  taking  every  precautior 
I  thought  that  we  might  open  it  without  risk. 
made  my  two  brothers  stand  ready  with  their  gur 
cocked  in  case  of  surprise,  and   so  we  let  iu  thj 
cattle. 

"  At  last,  the  daylight  came  again ;  and,  as  thj 


m 


THE  HEROINE   OF  VEUCIlfeUES. 


307 


Irtnoss  disappeared,  our  anxieties  seemed  to  dis- 
jppear  with  it.  Everybody  took  courage  except 
hlademoiselle  Marguerite,  wife  of  the  Sieur  Fon- 
mine,  who  being  extremely  timid,  as  all  Parisian 
fomcn  are,  asked  her  husband  to  carry  her  to  an- 
other fort.  .  .  He  said, '  I  wnll  never  abandon  this  fort 
fhile  Mademoiselle  Madelon  [Madeleine)  is  here.' 
lanswcred  him  that  T  would  never  abandon  it;  that 
|]would  rather  die  than  give  it  up  to  the  enemy ;  and 
it  was  of  the  greatest  importance  that  they 
iWcl  never  get  possession  of  any  French  fort,  be- 
Muse,  if  they  got  one,  they  would  think  they  could 
get  others,  and  would  grow  more  bold  and  pre- 
iptuous  than  ever.  I  may  say  with  truth  that 
lldid  not  eat  or  sleep  for  twice  twenty-four  hours. 
hlidnot  go  once  into  my  fathers  house,  but  kept 
pays  on  the  bastion,  or  went  to  the  blockhouse  to 
Isee  how  the  people  there  were  behaving.  I  always 
kept  a  '^heerful  and  smiling  face,  and  encouraged 
Qv  little  company  with  the  hope  of  speedy  succor. 
We  were  a  week  in  constant  alarm,  with  the 
|fDemy  always  about  us.  At  last  Monsieur  de  la 
fonnerie,  a  lieutenant  sent  by  Monsieur  de  Cal- 
[ieres,  arrived  in  the  night  with  forty  men.  As  he 
id  not  know  whether  the  fort  was  taken  or  not, 
|ie  approached  as  silently  as  possible.  One  of  our 
pntinels,  hearing  a  slight  sound,  cried,  ^Quivive?* 
was  at  the  time  dozing,  with  my  head  on  a  table 
ad  my  gun  lying  across  my  arms.  The  sentinel 
old  me  that  he  heard  a  voice  from  the  river.  I 
^ent  up  at  once  to  the  bastion  to  see  whether  it 
Fas  Indians  or  Frenchmen.     I  asked,  '  Who  are 


808 


THE   SCOURGE   OF  CANADA. 


you  ?  '     One  of  them  answered,  *  We  are  Frencl 
men  :  it  is  La  Monnerie,  who  comes  to  brinf*  yr 
help.'     I  caused  the  gate  to  be  opened,  placed 
sentinel  there,  and  went  down  to  the  river  to  itk 
them.     As  soon  as  I  saw  Monsieur  de  la  ^loniierii 
I  saluted  him,  and  said,  ^  Monsiem',  I  surrender  n 
arms  to  you.'     He  answered  gallantly,  ^  Madem( 
selle,  they  are  in  good  hands.'     ^  Better  than  3-1 
think,'  I  returned.     He   inspected    the   fort,  ai 
found  every  thing  in  order,  and  a  sentinel  on  ea( 
bastion.     ^  It  is  time  to  relieve  them,  Monsied 
said  I :  ^  w^e  have  not  been  off  our  bastions  fori 
week.' "  ' 

A  band  of  converts  from  the  Saut  St.  Louis  a 
rived  soon  after,  followed  the  trail  of  their  licathe 
countrymen,  overtook  them  on  Lake  Chaniplaii 
and  recovered  twenty  or  more  French  prisoner 
Madeleine  de  Vercheres  was  not  the  only  heroii 
of  her  family.  Her  father's  fort  was  the  Castj 
Dangerous  of  Canada ;  and  it  was  but  two  }  eii 
before  that  her  mother,  left  with  three  or  foi 


1  R^cit  de  Mile.  Magdelaine  de  Vercheres,  ari^e  df  14  ana  (Collection 
I'Abbd  Ferland).     It  appears  from   Tanguay,  Dictionnaire  difn^tlo'iiq 
that  Marie-Madeleine  Jarre t  de  Vercheres  was  horn  in  April,  IGTS,  wlii| 
corresponds  to  the  age  giA'en  in  the  Rffa't.     She  married  Thomns  Tarlj 
de  la  Naudi^re  in  170G,  and  M.  de  la  Perrade,  or  Prade,  iti  ITii. 
brother  Louis  was  born  in  1080,  and  was  therefore,  as  st;;tc(l  in 
R&it,  twelve  years  old  in  1692.     The  birthday  of  the  other,  A""lexanil( 
is  not  given.     His  baptism  was  registered  in  1082.     One  of  tlie  brotli^ 
was  killed  at  the  attack  of  Haverhill,  in  1708. 

Madame  de  Ponchartrain,  wife  of  the  minister,  procured  a  ponsij 
for  life  to  Madeleine  de  Vercheres.  Two  versions  of  her  narrative  i 
before  me.  There  are  slight  variations  between  them,  but  in  all  essd 
tial  points  they  are  the  same.  The  following  note  is  appended  to  one! 
them  :  "  Ce  r4c\t  fut  fait  par  ordre  de  M":  de  Beauharnois,  gouvern^ 
du  Canada." 


SAUT   ST.  LOUIS. 


309 


Lied  men,  and  beset  by  the  Iroquois,  threw  her- 

Ijlf  with  her  followers  into  the   blockhouse,  and 

M  the  assailants  two  days  at  bay,  till  the  Mar- 

Ls  clc  Crisasi  came  with  troops  to  her  relief.' 

From  the  momen.t  when  the  Canadians  found  a 

iief  whom  they  could    trust,  and    the   firm  old 

and  of  Frontenac  grasped  the  reins  of  their  destiny, 

I  spirit  of  hardihood  and  energy  grew  up  in  all 

rugged  population ;  and  they  faced  their  stern 

lirtiines  with  a  stubborn  daring  and  endurance  that 

Berit  respect  and  admiration. 

Now,  as  in  all  their  former  wars,  a  great  part  of 

eir  suffering  was  due  to  the    Mohawks.      The 

|Je>iiits  had  spared  no  pains  to  convert  them,  thus 

kiging  them  from  enemies  to  fHends';  and  their 

lorts  had  so  far  succeeded  that  the  mission  colony 

iSaut  St.  Louis  contained  anunierous  population 

y  Mohawk  Christians.^     The  place  was  wx'll  forti- 

p;  and  troops  were  usually  stationed  here,  partly 

I  defend  the  converts  and  partly  to  ensure  their 

ity.  They  had  sometimes  done  excellent  ser- 
[ice  for  the  French  ;  but  many  of  them  still  remem- 
ered  their  old  homes  on  the  Mohawk,  and  their 
[Id  ties  of  fellowship  and  kindred.  Their  heathen 
fimtrjmen  were  jealous  of  their  secession,  and 
[larecl  no  pains  to  reclaim  them.  Sometimes  they 
Ked  intrigue,  and  sometimes  force.  On  one  occa- 
[on,  joined  by  the  Oneidas  and  Onondagas,  they 
[tpeared  before  the  palisades  of  St.  Louis,  to  the 


<* 


1 ' 


'  U  Potherie,  I.  326. 

•  This  mission  was  also  called  Caghnawaga.     The  village  still  ex* 

.at  tiie  head  of  the  rapid  of  St.  Louis,  or  La  Ciiine. 


mo 


•nn"  RrnruuK,  <M.   rANAtM 


\\\\\\\ 


1mm  of   «niM«»  ll>nn  fnnr  lnmth'><l  wmrim^.  1 


'M 


i\\u\ 


\nvi 


n 


»<' 


I'^hoHM  ininnHM)    inn 


.1    III 


tH 


i»'    ;Mno'4  ^\\\\ 


<hov    \\i<l\(lv»*\v    ili^nMul'HiMl        il    \\:\i   nl    ^ihmH    in 


]>ovt!n\«M' 


(o  tho  JMonch  (n   Mimilcr  llu<m  Imm  i|| 


)\0!hI»ou  voliHivost  HO  ro«nnlo{i'l\    (liiH    H'ronriliiiiii|| 
\V\>\<1J    i>o    in\poM4iM«\    nnil    ii    wn'^    Imi}><'I\     In  |||| 


OWi 


1  thul 


H    OVM 


n.) 


ovpoihhon  WUH  |irojMn»M|  ngmii 


1 


iho  y\\A\[\\\V   towo^ 


All   <1 


W      \\U^M>0\\ 


In.i 


»nu  4  in    I  l»o    roinn  \    w  en*  \\ 


\'\ii'\\     <o    join     il.    li^o     In>«jnoiM    nl     llu>    Siiiil    in| 
Mo\\n<;n)K    ,\l>onMKi'^    iron«    ll«o    ( 'liiniili('^r»\   IIhkii 


(n>n<   1  ,o\^Mlo.  Mn<l    Mivompiin^  IVon\   'rinr.^   Ih\(» 
A  l\nn«hr.l  |>i»^lvOil  moMummwoio    inMotl.nnil  u  Im 
\\\\h]   ol    r:n\;\^liMnM        All   lol.l.  lln\\    nnnlcuMl   sij 
lu\ntlro\l    !\ntl    IwoniN    livo    \\\r\\.   \ni<lor   llnoo   iiu) 
l<\'^«lo\^s.    Mi^nlol.    (\>\n  l«M\un»rlH\    nnil     I  .n     Nmi 
Thov   loil    i1<;unl>l\     M<    ll\o    ond    ol    .IinniinN.  m 
>hoJ    sonthwind  on    -now    -hoo,)       Thoir  \\!i\  \\i 
'r   iho   ioo  ol    I.mKo    (1i;nn|>l:nn.  lor  ntrnr  Hia 
<\i\\     <ho     ^\^\\t     thoioii'^'JilMro    ol'    \\m|»:iilu 


Thov  1mvo\k»o1voJ  in  llu>  lo\o>;l  1»\   sjiniuls  ol  iwtl' 
OV  inoiv  ;  vi\ig  MWMv  tln^  snow  \\\   n   <mi'o1o.  t'ovcn 

{ho  \\\\\\\   i\\V\\\   Nvith   i\    \h'k\   o{  S|>nUM>   1»0\IM,1|s.  lll;lt 

}^  tnv  in  tho  nn«l»llo.  !n\<l  snu>l\o<l  (Iumt  |>i|M's  nnMiil 
\\.  Hoiv  oi\>nv^l\oo  tl\(^  duisl^Mn  .^nvMg<\  iunlllt]| 
in  his  M;\nko(.  his  iuuvmsIumI  I'moo  slill  smiivln 
vri I h  sivt  ;n\<^  vovn\ilion.  vi^liv^^  oi  iho  war  |»;iii\l  1 
lij^^l  worn  .i  wooK  botoix^  whvMi  lu^  ilanotMl  iliowaj 
daiuv  in  tho  sqn.'Wt^  o{  \\w  mission  villM,!;*^ 
luMV  s^U  iho  Canadians,  hootlod  liko  Cainu'lij 
monks,  but  irroprossihlo  in  hhpiaoil  v.  as  \\\o  hla^ 
of  tho  cunp-lnv  glowod  on  ihoir  hardy  visages  aii 


Il" 


MMM  \  \VI<     IMWNR    i\\'\  I'HI  li 


)!M 


I  (M«Mil    iiii^H  Sivlcnii    ilttv^    lirniifrltl     IIicim     in     liio    Iwo    low^r 

II  hnni  l||p(^|||iili!iu  I-  inwil't  A  \'MiiMj'  Ihih  hnifiii  vvlio  Iim'I 
(MMiMriliiilii|^||iirn  •  !t|il  III  I'll  lliipo  \iMH^t  holm  (Mil  S'lu'ri''' Ifi'iVi 
vt'1\     !•)   ll)|^giii'l  w  Ih<im  Mm  I  ii<li'iii't  oi   ill"  !'iiii(  IhmI  jrripr  h'I'  imI  v 

ItiHinlil    willi   lliciii,  mil   mII    in    |Im>  niulil,  iin'l    rnf- 
1  lln»  mImiiii  In  lln»    l'lMj'li';li       'I  li«>    in VMfN'f "^j    ImcI 


in«Mi   M^uiniii 


lun  won*  1 
i»'  Sim  I  III 
i^ri\  Hum 
^ln«M^  iJivp 
|«  MUil  II  liir 
n»\i^lonMl  :i 
)  llnoo  hit 
1  I  .i\  No 
.liMunn  \ .  II 

r  nuMr  liiMii 
I  \\\\\  \y.\v\u 
\miIm  »>I  <\n»'1 

ImMU'Ii :-.  UliH 

nviigo.  nuilll( 
still  siuiwli 
0  \v;\r  puiul  1 
\\wv^\  \\w  \\;t 
u  vill!\!;-o;  m 
iiko  Cnpiu'li 
V,  as  llu*  Itlii 

(Iv    visMLi'OSilll 


Lliiin'     In     |n';«v       'I'lic    Iwn    lowHf^   WMO    (i     'jHUi  lor 

jl^  !l     l<Ml|»l|r     M|lllll  'riM'\'    MIII»Oim'l»"'|      IJlCfM      lioffi 

Imiilir  MJ^Iil  n|    llip  Hisl(M'»illi  mI    l'VI»»ii)if  v.  WHifo'l 
'iliiicn    lill    llip    NoJiM'M  vvillnii  W'M'    ImimIm-'I,  mfi'I 
lllini  (ii|tliiMM|    (Immii  wiIImhiI   r'^siwhiho',  n<  ffio-:f  of 
imiiiiloM  WIMP   jili^fMil        Alliw    Imniinif    'mm»    of 


III,  linn    MM»vm|r    III"    |irisMiMMM    w««ll    {niMrnon    in 

n^Hlir  iillipi'.  |Ih'\'  niiiirlii'd  oij/lil    |<>ii|/-ii<>k  In  lli"  lliifl 

II.  kmitIhmI    il  ii)  cvcnini/.  uikI    lii'l  in  IIm«  iM-i^fi- 

iiiir   wnntlM.      'riiiMiii/li   nil  llic  ojiily   ni^lil,  iJi^y 


Lid  IliP  wlmnjiM  iind  f(mi('-^  of  IIm'  vvnifior,-?  wilfii 


n. 


ill 


II 


III  wrio  (iiiiinnjr  inr  wm  MMnr(*    lof    nn    ir 


fih'n'lcfj 

fcv|ii'(lilion.  Alionl  miflniulil,  nil  wmm  Rtill.  Tlio 
WiiIiiiuKm  liinl  poMlod  no  Mrnlirn-lM;  nri'l  orK?  (tf 
i\"  I'Vcncli    IndiiMiM,  fcnlint/    1Im'    |;iili,^>Mln,    op^-ncd 


111'  triilo  lo   liin   <'oniin»lr 


'I' 


n 


MTC    W»i,H 


a  >'fir»rt  In  it 


pindv    lifrlil.      Twrnly    or'    lliirly    Mofin.wk.H    w^^r^. 

illi'd,  imij  nrmlv  IIikm'    liinMlrcd   ('fi(jtiiicfl,  cfii^fly 

IfoiiM'M    ninl    cliiMrcn.      'I'Im"     Vvcik'}*    cornrnandcTH 

low  i(Mjiiir(Ml    lln'i?-  jillicM,  flu-    inisMion    IndifiriH,  U) 

ik<'  L'iood  n.  jH'oiriis*'  wliifl^  nl  ffir-  iriMfafiC^  of 
froiilciiiMr,    Im.d    hccn    cxnctfid    frf)rn    \\i(:if\    f»y   tli^; 

)V(Mn(>r  of  Moidrcn.l.  1 1,  wmh  tJuit,  t\n'.y  should 
all    liicir    nm.l(^   ('.Ji[)f iv(rM,   u.    [iror.^r^^ding    which 


312 


THE   SCOURGE   OF  CANADA. 


would    have   averted   every  danger  of   futuio  rj 
conciliation    between    llie   Christian    and    hojitli( 
Mohawks.      The    converts   of    the    Saiit    and   t) 
Mountain  had  readily  given  the  pledge,  but  appa 
ently  with  no  intention  to  keep  it;  at  least,  tli( 
now  refused  to  do  so.     Remonstrance  was  ust'lesj 
and,  after  burning  the  town,  the  French  and  tli( 
allies  Ijegan  their  retreat,  encundjcred  by  a  long  tra 
of  prisoners.     They  marched  two  days,  when  tli( 
Avere  hailed  from  a  distance  by  Mohawk  scouts,  ^vl 
told   them  that   the  English  were  on  their  trju 
but  that  peace  had  been  declared  in  Europe,  a^ 
that  the  pursuers  did  not  mean  to  light,  but 
parley.     Hereupon  the  mission  Indians  insisted 
waiting  for  them,  and  no  exertion  of  the  Fron^ 
commanders  could  persuade  them  to  move.     Tiej 
were  hew'n  down,  and  a  fort  made  after  the  hi 
quois  fashion,  by  encircling  the  camp  with  a  liij 
and  dense   abatis  of  trunks  and  branches.    Ilel 
they  lay  two  days  more,  the  French  disgusted  ai 
uneasy,  and  their  savage  allies  obstinate  and  ii 
practicable. 

Meanwhile,  Major  Peter  Schuyler  was  follo\vi 
their  trail,  with  a  body  of  armed  settlers  hastil 
mustered.     A  troop  of  Oneidas  joined  him;  a[ 
the  united  parties,  between  five  and  six  liundii 
in  all,  at  length  appeared  before  the  fortified  cai^ 
of  the  French.     It  was  at  once  evident  that  the 
was  to  be  no  parley.     The  forest  rang  with  w^ 
whoops;  and  the  English  Indians,  unmanageablel 
those  of  the  French,  set  at  work  to  entrench  tliel 
selves  with  felled  trees.     The    French  and  m 


A   DKAWN   BATTI.K. 


313 


lies  sallied  to  dislodge  them.  The  attack  was 
fee,  Mild   the  resistance  o(|ually  so.     Both  sides 

irioiind  hy  turns.     A  priest  of  the  mission  of 

Mountain,  named  Gay,  wjjs  in  tlie  thick  of  the 
^rlit;  .ind,  when  he  saw  his  neophytes  run,  he 
trt.v  himself  before  them,  crying,  *'  What  are 
[J  afraid  of?  We  are  lighting  with  infidels,  who 
|ive  nothing  human  but  the  shape.  Have  you 
^gotten  that  the  Holy  Viig-in  is  onr  leader  and 

protector,  and   that  you   are    subjects  of  the 

v^  of  France,  whose  name  makes  all   Europe 

tfiiihle  ?  *'  *     Three    times    the    French    renewed 

|e  attack  m  vain  ;  then  gave  over  the  attempt, 

1(1  lay  quiet  behind  their  barricade  of  trees.     So 

(lid  their  opponents.     The  morning  was  dark 

stormy,  and  the  driving  snow  that  filled  the 
made  the  position  doubly  dreary.  The  English 
m  starving.     Their  slender  stock  of  provisions 

been  consumed  or  shared  with  the  Indians, 
b.  on  their  part,  did  not  want  food,  having  re- 
iirces  unknown  to  their  white  friends.     A  group 

them  squatted  about  a  fire  invited  Schuyler  to 

[are  their  broth;    but  his   appetite  was  spoiled 

lien  he  saw  a  human  hand  ladled    out  of  the 

Ittle.    His  hosts  w^ere  breakfasting  on   a  dead 

each  man. 

|A11  night  the  hostile  bands,  ensconced  behind 
eir  sylvan  ramparts,  watched  each  other  in  silence. 
the  morning,  an  Indian  deserter  told  the  Eng- 

commander  that  the  French  were  packing  their 
|ggage.    Schuyler  sent  to  reconnoitre,  and  found 

>fi>'intal  de  Jacques  Le  Ber,  extract  in  Faillon,  Vie  de  Mile.  Le  Betj 


314 


TUE   8C0UIUJE   OK   CANADA. 


|i ' 


tliom  gone.     Tlicy  had  retreated  unseen  (liiouirl 
the  snow-storm.     He  ordered  his  men   to  follow 
but,  as  most  of  them  had  fasted  for  two  days,  thtj 
refused  to  do  so  till  an  expeeted  convoy  of  jirovij 
eions  should    arrive.     They    waited    till   the  mxj 
morning,  when  the  convoy  appeared  :  five  l)isc'i 
were  served  out  to  each  man,  jind  the  pursuit 
gan.     By  great  efforts,  they  nearly  overtook  thi 
fugitives,  Avho   now  sent  them  word    that,  if  tlie^ 
made  an  attack,  all  the  prisoners  should  he  put 
death.     On  this,  Schuyler's  Indinns  refused  to  coi 
tinue  the  chase.     The  French,  hy  this  time,  ha 
reached  the  Hudson,  where  to  their  disninv  tliei 
found   the   ice  breaking  up  and  drifting  down  tli 
stream.     Happily  for  theui,  a  large  sheet  of  it  li;i 
become  wedged  at  a  turn  of  the  river,  and  fori 
a  temporary  bridge,  by  which  they  crossed,  m 
then  pushed   on  to  Lake  George.     Here  the  ifol 
and  melting  ice  would  not  bear  them ;  and  tlioj 
were  forced  to  make  their  wav  along  the  A\on 
over  rocks  and  mountains,  through   sodden  snoj 
and  matted  thickets.    The  provisions,  of  which  the 
had  made   a  d6ipot  on  Lake   Champlain,  were 
spoiled.      They   boiled   moccasons  for  food,  a 
scraped  away  the  snow  to  find  hickory  and  beeo 
nuts.     Several  died  of  famine,  and  many  inor 
unable  to  move,  lay  helpless  by  tlie  lake;  wliilej 
few  of  the  strongest  toiled  on  to  Montreal  to  t^ 
Calli^res  of  their  plight.     Men  and  food  were  .«e| 
them ;  and  from  time  to  time,  as  they  were  alj| 
they  journeyed  on  again,  straggling  towards  tlifl 
homes,  singly  or  in  small  parties,  feeble,  emaciate 


BOLDNKSS  OF  COUUTKMANCIIK. 


315 


mil  in  many    instances   with    health    irreparably 
broken.' 

'The  expedition,"  says  Frontenac,  "  was  a  glo- 
Ifioiis  success."  IFowever  glorious,  it  was  denrly 
boiiglit  ;  and  a  few  more  such  vi(!lories  would  be 
Iniin.    The  gove»nor  presently  achieved  a  success 

re  solid  and  less  costly.  The  ujivtM'lng  mood  of 
Ithe north-western  tribes,  always  oscillating  between 

French  and  the  English,  had  caused  him  inces- 
|«nt  anxiety ;  and  he  had  lost  no  titne  in  using  the 
efeat  of  Phips  to  confirm   them   in   alliance  with 
iCaiiatlu.     Courtemanche  was  sent  up  the  Ottawa 
icaiTy  news  of  the  French  triupiph,  and  stinudate 
khe  savages  of  Michilliuuicki.nac  to  lift  the  hatchet. 
ft  was  a  desperate  venture;  for  the  river  was  be- 
et, as  usual,  by  the  Iroquois.    With  ten  followers, 
kiie daring  partisan  ran  the  gauntlet  of  a  thousand 
iangers,  and  safely  reached  his  destination  ;  where 
p  gifts  and  his  harangues,  joined  with  the  tidings 
[{victory,  kindled   great  excitement   among   the 
pttawas  and  Hurons.     The  indispensable  but  most 
pcult  task  remained  :  that  of  opening  the  Ottawa 

the  descent  of  the  great  accumulation  of  beaver 
kins,  which  had  beer  gathering  at  Michillimack- 
iiac  for  three  years,  and  for  the  want  of  which 
[anacla  w  as  bankrupt.     More  than  two  hundred 

'  On  tliis  expedition,  Nairative  of  MlUlavij  O/Kratioits  in  Canada,  in 
•  Y.  Cvl.  Dors.,  IX.  550;  Relation  de  cc.  cjui  s'tsf  jxtss^  de  })liis  rnnarqnahle 
\Cannda,  1092,  1693;  Callieres  au  iMinistre,  7  ^V/>^,  1093;  La  Totherie, 
i9;  Relation  de  1082-1712;  Faillon,  Vie  de  Mile.  Le  Ber,  313;  Bel- 
lent,  //is/,  du  Canada;  Beyard  and  Lodowick,  .Tonrnal  of  the  Late  Action* 
'  Freiirh  at  Canada ;  Report  of  Major  Peter  Schuyler,  in  N.  Y.  Col, 
«.,IV.  16;  Colden,  142. 

Ill'  minister  wrote  to  Callieres,  finding  frreat  fault  with  the  conduct 
I'Afc  mission  Indians.     Ponchartrain  a  Callieres,  8  Mai,  1694. 


316 


THE  SCOURGE  OF   CANADA. 


[169 


Frenchmen  were  known  to  be  at  that  remote  post 
or  roaming  in  the  wilderness  around  it ;  and  Fron] 
tenac  resolved  on  an  attempt  to  muster  them  t( 
gether,  and   employ  their  united   force  to  protocl 
the  Indians  and  the  traders  in  bringing  down  tliij 
mass  of  furs  to  Montreal.     A  messenger,  stronu-li 
escorted,  was  sent  with  orders  to  this  effect,  nni 
succeeded    in    reachino:    Michillimackinac,    llion'i 
there  was  a  battle  on  the  way,  in  which  tlie  ollice] 
commanding   the    escort   was   killed.      Froiitona 
anxiously  waited  the  issue,  when  after  a  long  (k'laj 
the  tidings  reached  Iiim  of  complete  succ  _ss.     U\ 
hastened  to  Montreal,  and  found  it  swarming  will 
Indians  and  coureurs  de  hois.     Two  hundi'Ofl  oa 
noes  had  arrived,   filled   with  the  coveted  l)oavei 
skins.     "It  is  impossible,"  says  the  clu^onicle.  "tJ 
conceive  the  joy  of  the  people,  when  they  heliel^ 
these  riches.    Canada  had  awaited  them  foi-  vearg 
The  merchants  and    the  farmers  were  dying 
hunger.      Credit  was   gone,   and    everybody  ^v^ 
afraid  that  the  enemy  would  waylay  and  sei::e  tliij 
last  resource   of  the  country.     Therefore  it  was 
that  none  could  find  words  strong  enough  to  praisj 
and  bles3  him  by  whose  care  all  this  wealth  lial 
arrived.     Father  of  the  Peoi^le,  Preserver  of  thi 
Country,  seemed  terms  too  weak  to  express  tlieij 
gratitude."  ^ 

While  three  vears  of  arrested  sustenance  caiiil 
down  together  from  the  lakes,  a  (leet  sailed  up  tlij 
St.  Lawrence,  freighted  with  soldiers  and  supplie^ 
The  horizon  of  Canada  was  brightening. 

1  delation  de  re  qui  s'csl  pass^  de.  plus  remarqnable  en  Canada,  IG'.'-,  16!^ 
Compare  La  Totlierie,  III.  186. 


F' 


CHAPTEli  XV. 


1691-1695. 


AN  INTERLUDE. 


succ  .ss. 


TEAL  OF  FrONTENAO,  —  IIlS  OPPONENTS.  —  HiS  vSEnVICES.  —  lllVAL- 

ST  AND  Strife.  —  Bishop  Saint- Vallier.  —  Sociktv  at  tub 
Chateau.  —  Private  Tiieatuicai.s.  —  Alarm  of  the  Clergy. — 
Tartuffe.  —  A  Singular  Hargain.  —  Mareuil  and  the  Bishop. 
-Mareuil  on  Trial.  — Zeal  of  Saint- Vall;er.  —  Scandals  at 
Moxtueal.  —  Appeal  to  the  King.  —  The  Strife  composed. — 

LiBKL   AGAINST    FrONTENAC. 


I  Canada,  my2,m 


WniLE    the    Canadians   hailed    Frontenac    as  a 
ither,  he  found  also  some  recognition  of  his  ser- 
riees  from  his  masters  at   the   court.     The  king 
rrote  him  a  letter  with  his  own  hand,  to  express 
atisfiiction  at  the  defence  of  Quebec,  and  sent  him 
[gift  of  two  thousand  crowns.    He  greatly  needed 
lie  money,  but  prized  the  letter  still  more,  and 
Tote  to  his  relative,  the  minister  Ponchartrain : 
Tiii'  gift  you  procured   for  me,  this  year,  has 
lielped  me  very  much  towards  paying  the  great 
hpenses  which  the  crisis  of   our  affairs  and  the 
pcessive  cost  of  living  here  have  caused  me ;  but, 
lliougli  I  receive  this  mark  of  his  Majesty's  good- 
less  with  the  utmost  respect  and  gratitude,  I  con- 
fess that  I  feel    far  more  deeply  the  satisfaction 
liat  he  has  been  pleased  to  e>.}  ress  with  my  ser- 
^ces.    The  raising  of  the  siege  of  Quebec  did  not 


1! 


m-- 


318 


AN  INTERLUDE. 


[1601- 


^Mvei 


deserve  all  the  attention  that  I  hear  he  has 
it  in  the  midst  of  so  many  important  events,  an 
therefore  I  must  needs  ascribe  it  to  your  kindnc 
in  commending  it  to  liis  notice.     This  lends  me 
hope   that  Vv^henever   some    office,  or   pennnne 
eriiploynient,  or  some  mark  of  dignity  or  distin 
tion,  may  offer  itself,  you  will  put  me  on  tlio  li< 
as  well   as  others  who  have   the  honor  to  be 
closely  connected  with  you  as  I  am ;  for  it  woiili 
be  very  hard   to  find  myself  forgotten  because 
am  in  a  remote  countr}'',  where  it  is  more  difliou 
and  dangerous  to  serve  the  king  than  elscwher 
I  have  consumed  all  my  property.     Nothing  is  le 
but  what  the  king  gives  me ;  and  I  have  reach 
an  age  where,  though  neither  strength  nor  gooi 
will  fail  me  as  yet,  and  though  the  latter  will  la 
as  long  as  I  live,  T  see  mj^sclf  on  the  eve  of  losinj 
the  former :  so  that  a  post  a  little  more  secure  ai 
tranquil  than  the  government  of  Canada  will  soc 
suit  my  time  of  life ;  and,  if  I  can  be  assured 
your  support,  I  shall  not  despair  of  getting  suchj 
one.    Please  then  to  permit  ray  \vife  and  my  frieni] 
to  refresh  your  memory  now  and   then  on  tl 
point."  *     Again,  in  the  following  year :  '^  I  \m 
been  encouraged  to  believe  that  the  gift  of  i\^ 
thousand  crowns,  which  his  Majesty  made  me  Itij 
y^ar,  would   be  continued ;    but   apparently  yq 
have  not  been  able  to  obtain  it,  for  I  think  that  y( 
know  the  ditTiculty  I  have  in  living  here  on 
salary.    I  hope  that,  when  you  find  a  better  oppo 
tunity,  you  will  try  to  procure  me  this  favor.    )l 

»  Frontenac  an  Ministre,  20  Oct.,  1691. 


[16Ol-!)flfl'03.1 


OPPONENTS  OF  FRONTENAC. 


319 


Idlv  trust  is  in  your  support ;  and  I  am  persuaded 
iat,  having  the  lionor  to  be  so  closely  connected 
rth  yo^^  you  would  reproach  yourself,  if  you  saw 
[esink  into  decrepitude,  without  resources  and 
rithoiit  honors." '  And  still  again  he  appeals  to 
ie  minister  for  "  some  permanent  and  honorable 
ace  attended  with  the  marks  of  distinction,  which 
more  grateful  than  all  the  rest  to  a  heart  shaped 
iter  the  right  pattern."  ^  In  return  for  these 
My  applications,  he  got  nothing  for  the  present 
Bt  a  continuance  of  the  king's  gift  of  two  thou- 
nd  crowns. 

Not  every  voice  in  the  colony  sounded  the  gov- 

nor's  praise.     Now,  as  always,  he  had  enemies  in 

at3  and  Church.     It  is  true  that  the  quarrels  and 

lie  bursts  of  passion  that  marked  his  first  term  of 

prnment  now  rarely  occurred,  but  this  was  not 

much  due  to  a  change  in  Frontenac  himself  as 

I  a  change  in  the  conditions  aroimd  him.     The 

wmade  him  indispensable.     He  had  gained  what 

[wanted,  the  consciousness  of  mastery ;  and  under 

soothing   influence    he  was  less   irritable  and 

acting.     He  lived  with  the  bishop  on  terms  of 

utiial  courtesy,  while  his  relations  with  his  col- 

fgue,   the    intendant,    were    commonly  smooth 

[oiigh  on  the  surface  ;  for  Champigny,  warned  by 

court  not   to  offend   him,  treated  him  with 
|i^ied  deference,  and  was  usually  treated  in  re- 

with  urbane  condescension.     During  all  this 
ne,  the  intendant  was  complaining  of  him  to  the 

*  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  16  Sept.,  1G92. 
2  Ibid.,  25  Oct.,  1693. 


320 


AN  INTERLUDE. 


11601- 


minister.  "  He  is  spending  a  great  deal  of  monej 
but  he  is  master,  and  does  what  he  pleases.  1 
only  keep  the  peace  by  yielding  every  thin^r  J 
"He  wants  to  reduce  me  to  a  nobody."  Ai 
among  other  similar  charges,  he  says  that  the  o( 
ernor  receives  pay  for  garrisons  that  do  not  exi| 
and  keeps  it  for  himself.  ''  Do  not  tell  that  I 
so,"  adds  the  prudent  Champigny,  '^  for  it  woi 
make  great  trouble,  if  he  knew  it."^  Frontenj 
perfectly  aware  of  these  covert  attacks,  desires 
minister  not  to  heed  ''  the  falsehoods  and  impc 
tures  uttered  against  me  by  persons  who  iiiedc 
with  what  does  not  concern  them."  ^  He  alliic 
to  Champigny's  allies,  the  Jesuits,  who,  as 
thought,  had  also  maligned  liiin.  "  Since  I  luj 
been  here,  I  have  spared  no  pains  to  gain  the  goc 
will  of  Monsieur  the  intendant,  and  may  God  i^^'d 
that  the  counsels  which  he  is  too  ready  to  recei] 
from  certain  persons  who  have  never  been  friei 
of  peace  and  harmony  do  not  some  time  make  dij 
sion  between  us.  But  I  close  my  eyes  to  all  tli^ 
and  shall  still  persevere."  ^  In  another  letter  to  Pc 
chartrain,  he  says  :  "  I  write  you  this  in  private, 
cause  I  have  been  informed  by  my  wife  that  charg 
have  been  made  to  you  against  my  conduct  siiij 
my  return  to  this  country.  I  promise  you,  Mc 
seigneur,  that,  whatever  my  accusers  do,  they  ^ 
not  make  me  change  conduct  towards  them,  aj 
that  I  shall  still  treat  them  with  consideration. 

^  Champi(]ny  ati  Mlnistre,  12  Oct.,  1691. 
2  Ibid.,  i' Nov.,  1693. 
'  Frontenac  an  Mlnistre,  15  Sept.,  1692. 
*  Ibid.,  20  Oct.,  1691. 


-03.] 


SKHVICES  OF  FUONTENAC. 


32] 


Merely  ask  your  leave  most  huinbly  to  represent 
^at,  having  maintained  tlils  colony  in  full  pros- 
(rity  (luring  the  ten  years  when  I  formerly  held 
ie government  of  it,  I  nevertheless  fell  a  sacrifice 

the  artifice  and  fury  of  those  whose  encroach- 
ments, and  whose  excessive  and  unauthorized 
ower,  my  duty  and  my  passionate  affection  for 
me  service  of  the  king  ol)Hged  me  in  conscience 
I  repress.  My  recall,  which  made  them  masters  in 
ae  conduct  of  the  government,  was  followed   by 

the  disasters  which  overwhelmed  this  unhappy 
^lony.  The  millions  that  the  king  spent  here,  the 
oops  that  he  sent  out,  and  the  Canadians  th.at  he 
ok  into  pay,  all  went  for  nothing.  Most  of  the 
|)l(]iers,  and  no  small  number  of  brave  Cjinadians, 

lished  in  enterprises  ill  devised  and  ruinous  to 
|ie  country,  which  I  found  on  my  arrival  ravaged 
fith  unheard-of  cruelty  by  the  Iroquois,  without 
If^istance,  and  in  sight  of  the  troops  and  of  the 
m.  The  inhabitants  were  discouraged,  and  un- 
med   by   w^ant  of    confidence   in    their   chiefs; 

le  tlie  friendly  Indians,  seeing  our  weakness, 
mo  ready  to  join  our  enemies.  I  was  fortunate 
noiigli  and  diligent  enough  to  change  this  de- 
[lorablo  state  of  things,  and  drive  away  the  Eng- 
bli.  whom  my  predecessors  did  not  have  on  theii' 
ands,  and  this  too  with  only  half  as  many  troops 

they  had.  I  am  far  from  wishing  to  blame  their 
ondiict.  I  leave  you  to  judge  it.  But  I  cannot 
liivi'  the  tranquillity  and  freedom  of  mind  which  I 
pd  for  the  work  I  have  to  do  here,  without  feel- 
in'  entire  confid'ence  that  the  cabal  which  is  again 

21 


|| 


■ 


ooo 

O  t,j  u 


AN   INTICin.UPK. 


fim.;). 


fonninij;   iiu^niiiMl,    im»  oiinnot    [>ro<lM(M»   Itnpnvssioi 
wlnoli  uv,\y    prcvJMil    voii    from  doinu;   ww   jiisiioj 
For  tho  n\Mt,  if  it  is  11ioiil!;1iI  Hi  I  hat  I  shoiild  Irn 
iho  pnosis  lo  do  ms  (licy  like,  I  slinll   Ix*  dclivop^ 
from   jui   inOiiily  of   Ironhhvs  nnd  rnros,  i?i  \vlii(»l| 
can   liav(^  no  oIIhm'   inl<M'(vsi,   lli;in   llio   ;^ood  of  |] 
(M)lony,  Iho  Irado  of  11h»  kinL!;doui,  atid  Uk*  pi^ice 
(lio  kinji;'s  sid)joc(M,  and  of  wliicli  I  alone  bear  tl 
burdiMi.  aM  W(>11  as  lli(»  'pvilonMy  of  snndry   pcrsoi 
and  llio  iniqnily  of  tin*  (M'clesiaslio.s,  wlio  hc^iii 
call  inipions  llioso  who  are  ohliujod  to  oppose  (Ik 
passions  and  ihcir  intorosts."  ' 

As  Cha,ni]n<jjny  always  sithnl  with  the  Jesniis, 
relations  with  l^^rontonac  «i;r(nv  daily  more  (•ri(i{ 
0])en  rn])turo  at  lonji;th  sooniod  inuninont,  and  t| 
kin«;'  intorjiosod  to  koop  tlu^  poace.  "  Thvw 
lioon  discord  hotwocn  von  nnih^'  a  show  of  hi 
niony,"  ho  wrote  to  the  dispntants.''^  Fronton 
w'as  exhorted  to  forbearance  and  calmness;  vvlij 
the  intendant  w^as  told  that  he  allowed  hiinsrlf 
bo  made  an  instrnmont  of  others,  and  (hat 
charges  against  the  governor  proved  nolhini;  iJ 
his  own  ill-temper.^  The  minister  >vrote  in  \'a\ 
The  bickerings  that  he  reproved  were  but  prcnioi 
tions  of  a  greater  strife. 

Bishop  Saint-Vallier  was  a  rigid,  anstcro,  a 
contentious  prelate,  who  loved  power  as  much 

'  "  Ti'iniquit(^  dos  cocU'^siastiques  qui  conimcnccnt  Jv  traitor  d  :nij 
ceux  qui  sont  obliges  ile  resister  U  leurs  passions  et  Ji  ieurs  intore^ 
FmUenacnu  .)fi>iistre,  120  Oct.,  IGOl. 

'  Af^nwhr  (ill  Roy  pour  Fmntcnac  ct  Champigny,  1C04. 

'  Le  Mhnstre  a  Frontcuac,  8  May,  1604  ;  Le  Ministre  b  Champij^ 
njme  date.  ^ 


pnoa.  ini^fctiirti'il         socii-yrv  at   vuk  ciiATKAir. 


323 


iinpn'ssioi 

shoiiM  \r\\\ 

\){\  (Iclivcn 

H,  in  wliiclj 

<i;()()(l  of  l] 

the  p(M(X' 
)n»»  Ix'nr  ll 
1(1  ry   piMsoi 
vho  l)(>'j;in 

0|)|>(>s(>  \\\{ 

iic  Jcsniis, 
more  (M'itici 
nont,  Mud  t| 

''  Thorc 
show  of  liJ 
Front  (Mil 

niioss ;  \vh| 
ed   liiinself 

and    (l>:»t 
iiolhin*!; 
^vroto  in  vail 
but  prcnioi 

aiistcro,  aj 
er  as  niuclil 

it  K  traitor  (V:m^ 
;t  ll  leurs  intore^ 

04. 

inistre  h  Cham^ii 


Ltilcnac  ]ninM(»lf,  ninl  llioii^lil  tlml,  ns  flic  deputy 
L'dirist,  it  was   liis  dutv  In  cxcn'i.Mc   it  to  Ihu  ut- 
i{      'rii(»  govcMiiof  wmIcIkmI   Ilim  with   a  jcmIoiih 
[vo.  well  Mware  llinf.,  llioiin^li  (Ik»  prM'tcnsiojiH  of  llie 
iK'li  lo  supiMMiiaey  over  llic  civil  power  had  Miif- 
L'll  ii  clicok,  Saint- ValliiM'  woidd  revive;  them  the 
Ui'^id  he  thoiiujht  he  could    do  so    with    sueceHs. 
bvc  ^howji  elsewhiM'e  I  lie  severity  of  I  he  (M'ch'si- 
tiriil  ride    at  (iuehee,  \yhere    fhc;    zeah)UH    pasforH 
[atclicd  their  Hock  with  uur(deiiti]i;i;  vi;^ilauce,  and 
iDiinlions  of    pious    women    hel[)e(I    them   in    th(; 
rk.'    'I'his  naturally  produ(;ed  revolt,  a,nd  t.;nd(;d 
divide   (lie    town    into   two   j)arties,  the  worldly 
111  die   (hwout.      'V\\{)   love    of    j)leasm'e    was    not 
liii'j;nished,  and  various  intlueiKM's  Indped  lo  kec^p 
lalivc.      l?erha])s  none  of  these  was   so   j)otent  as 
(e presence  in  winter  of  a  considerahle  nundjor  of 
iiiHMs  from   France,  whose   pioty  was   often   less 
ppicuous  than  their  lov(;  of  enjoyment.     At  the 
liiitcjui  St.  Louis  a  circle  of  youn;^  men,  more  or 
h  l)rillia,nt    and    accomplislHul,    sun-ounrled    the 
prnor,  and  formed  a  (uuitre  of  so(ual  attraction. 
Irontenac  was  not  without  I'eli^ion.  and  he  held  it 
wining  a  man  of  Ins  station  not  to  fail  in  its 
Advances ;  but  he  would  not  liave  a  Jesuit  eon- 
mr,  and   placed   his  conscience  in  tlie  keeping 
the  Recollet   friars,   who  were   not    politically 
bressive,  and  who  had  been  sent  to  Canada  ex- 
ply  as  a  foil  to  the  rival  order.     They  found 
ifavor  in  the  eyes  of  the  bishop  and  his  adherents, 
|i(l  the  governor  found  none   for  the  support  he 
It  them. 

1  01(1  R<?gime,  chap.  xix. 


324 


AN   INTERLUDK. 


lien.-},  Kjr 


:} 


The  winter  that  followed  the  nrrival  of  \\iv  fiui 
from  the  upper  lakes  was  a  season  of  gayet}-  wiihj 
out  pi'eeoflent  since  the  war  began.     All  was  hai 
mony  at  Quebec  till  the  carnival  approached,  whei 
Frontenac,  whose  youthful  instincts  survived  hij 
seventy-four  years,  introduced  a  startling  no\elti 
which   proved  the  signal  of  discord.     Que  of  hij 
military  circle,  the  sharp-witted  La  Motte-Cadillac 
thus  relates  this  tuiioward  event  in  a  letter  to 
friend  :    "  Tlie  winter  passed  very  pleasantly,  o! 
pecially  to   the   officers,   who   lived   together  liki 
comrades ;  and,  to  contribute  to  their  houost  cnj 
joyment,  the  count  caused  two  plays  to  be  aclt'c 
^  Nicomede  '  and  ^Mithridate.'"    It  was  an  amateul 
performance,  in  which  the  oflicers  took  part  alonj 
with  some  of  t>ie  ladies  of  Quebec.    The  success  wi 
prodigious,  and  so  was   the  storm   that  followoi 
Half  a  century  before,  the  Jesuits  had  grieved  ovi 
the  first  ball  in  Canada.     Private  theatricals  wri 
still  more  baneful.     "  The  clergy,"  contimios 
Motte,  "beat  their  alarm  drums,  armed  cap-a-pii 
and  snatched  their  bows  and  arrows.     The  Siei 
Gland elet  was  fi'\st  to   begin,   and   preached  t 
sermons,  in  which  he  tried  to  piove  that  y\u]a 
could  go  to  a  play  without  mortal  sin.    The  bislic 
issued  a  mandate,  and  had  it  read  from  the  pulpit 
in  which  he  speaks  of  certain  impious,  imp  .re.  lu 
noxious  comedies,  insinuating  that  those  wliidi  M 
been  acted  were  such.     The  credulous  and  inlii] 
uated    people,  seduced    by  the    sermons  und  i\ 
mandate,  began  already  to  regard  the  count  as 
corrupter  of  morals  and   a  destroyer  of  rdigiol 


liisv: 


lUM-l 


"  TAKTUFFE. 


325 


the  numerous  party  of  tlie  pretended  devotecg 
Uiistcred  in  the  streets  and  pnhlic  plaees,  and 
presently  made  their  way  into  the  houses,  to  eon- 
firm  the  weak-minded  in  tlieir  ilUision.and  tried  to 
make  the  stronger  share  it;  Init,  as  they  failed  in 
tills  ahnost  completely,  they  resolved  at  last  to  con- 
quer or  die,  and  persuaded  the  hishop  to  use  a 
jirange  device,  which  was  to  publish  a  mandate  in 
I'Jie  church,  wliereby  the  Sieur  de  Mareuil,  a  half- 
lieutenant,  was  interdicted  the  use  of  the 
Isacraments."  ^ 

This  story  needs  explanation.  Not  only  had 
benmateur  actors  at  the  chateau  placed  two  pieces 
liDoffcnsive  enough  in  themselves,  hut  a  report  had 
llieen  spread  that  they  meant  next  to  perform  the 
|anioiis  -'  Tartuffe  "  of  IVIohere,  a  satire  which,  while 
purporting  to  be  levelled  against  falsehood,  lust, 
leod,  and  ambition,  covered  with  a  mask  of  religion, 
ira-  Jghtly  thought  by  a  portion  of  \]\(i  clergy  to  be 
Celled  against  themselves.  The  friends  of  Fron- 
'mo,  say  that  the  report  was  a  hoax.  Be  this  as 
my,  the  bishop  believed  it.  ''  This  worthy  prel- 
ate," continues  the  irreverent  La  Motte,  '"  was 
raid  of  *  Tartuffe,'  and  had  got  it  into  his  head  that 
le  count  meant  to  have  it  played,  though  he  had 
ever  thought  of  such  a  thing.  Monsieur  de  Saint- 
[allior  sweated  blood  and  water  to  stop  a  torrent 
h  existed  only  in  his  imagination."  It  was 
ow  that  he  launched  his  two  mandates,  both  on 
|iesanie  day;  one  denouncing  comedies  in  general 
ji<l  ''Tartuffe  "  in  particular,  and  the  other  smiting 

J   Tm  Motlt -Cadillac  a  ,  28  Sept..  WM. 


826 


AN    INTERLUDE. 


[m 


h 


Marcuil,  who,  he  says,  "  uses  language  capaljlc 
making  Heaven  blush,"  and  whom   he  elsowhci 
stigmatizes  as  "  worse  than  a  Protestant."  '     It  wj 
Mareuil  who,  as  reporte'l,  was  to  play  the  pjut 
Tartufl'e  ;  and  on  him,  therefore,  the  brunt  of  cpi 
copal   indignation  fell.     lie  was  not  a  wholly  ( 
emplary  person.     "  I  mean,"  says  La  Motte,  •' 
show   you    the    truth    in    all  its  nakedness.     Tl 
fact  is  that,  abcut  two  years  ago,  when  the  »Sioi 
de  Mareuil  first  came  to  Canada,  and  was  carousiu 
with   his  friends,  he  sang  some   indecent  sung 
other.     The  count  was  told  of  it,  and  gave  liiin 
severe  reprimand.     This  is  the  charge  against  liiii 
After  a  two  years'  silence,  the  pastoral  zeal  lij 
wakened,  because  a  play  is  to  be  acted  which 
clergy  mean  to  stop  at  any  cost." 

The  bishop  found  another  way  of  stopping  i| 
He  met  Frontenac,  with  the  intendant,  near  tl 
Jesuit  chapel,  accosted  him  on  the  subject  avIiIc 
filled  his  thoughts,  and  offered  him  a  hundre 
pistoles  if  he  woidd  prevent  the  playing  of  "  Ttij 
tuffe."  Frontenac  laughed,  and  closed  the  burgaij 
Saint-Yallier  wrote  his  note  on  the  spot;  and  tl 
governor  took  it,  apparently  well  pleased  to  li;n 
made  the  bishop  disburse.  "  I  thought,"  wiit( 
the  intendant,  *^  that  Monsieur  de  Frontenac  won] 
have  given  him  back  the  paper."  He  did  no  sue 
thing,  but  drew  the  money  on  the  next  day  ui^ 
gave  it  to  the  hospitals.^ 

'  Mandement  an  Sujet  des  Comedies,  1(3  Jan.,  1694  ;  Mandement  an  .Nj| 
de  certaines  Personnes  qui  tenoient  dis  Discours  iinpies,  meine  datt' ;  IWn 
du  Conseil  Soiiverain. 

2  This  incident  is  mentioned  by  La  Motte-Cadillac ;  by  tlie  intentlai 


MARKUIL  AND  THE   BISHOP. 


327 


ac ;  by  the  iutendai 


Miiiviill,  (leprived  of  the  sacraments,  and   held 

to  reprobation,  went   to   see   the   bishop,  who 

|(!iisc(l  to  receive  hip) ;  and  it  is  said  that  he  was 

im  by  the  shouhlers  and  put  out  of  doors.     He 

o\v  resolved  to  bring  his  case  before  the  council; 

at  the  bishop  was  informed  of  his  purpose,  and 

Dticipated  it.     La   Motte  says  *Mie   went  before 

Icouncil  on  the  lirst  of  February,  and  denounced 

^eSicur  de  Mareuil,  whom  he  declared  guilty  of 

spiety  towards  God,  the  Virgin,  and  the  Saints, 

ifliuade  a  fine  speech  in  the  absence  of  the  count, 

^terrupted    by    the    effusions   of    a   heart   which 

eiiu'd  filled  vvitli  a  profound  and  infinite  charity, 

|iit  which,  as  he  said,  was  pushed  to  extremity  by 

le rebellion  of  an  indocile  child,  who  had  neglected 

his  warnings.     This  was,  nevertheless,  assumed  ; 

|will  not  say  entirely  false." 

The  bishop  did,  in  fact,  make  a  vehement  speech 

gainst  Mareuil  before  the  council  on  the  day  in 

iiiestion ;  Mai'euil  stoutly  defending  himself,  and 

ptering  his  appeal  against  the  episcopal  mandate.* 

file  battle  was  now  fairly  joined.     Frontenac  stood 

ilone  for  the  accused.  The  intendant  tacitly  favored 

li?  opponents.     Auteuil,  the  attorney-general,  and 

filleray,  the  first  councillor,  owed  the  governor 

old   grudge ;    and    they  and    their  colleagues 

[ided  with  the  bishop,  with  the  outside  support  of 

ill  the  clergy,  except  the  Recollets,  who,  as  usual, 

anged   themselves  with    their   patron.     At   first, 

plio  reports  it  to  the  minister;  by  the  minister  Ponchartniin,  who  asiik 
[roiiteiKic  for  an  exphination  ;  by  Frontenac,  wlio  passes  it  off  as  a  jest; 
"id bv  several  other  contemporary  writers. 
'  Reqisire  du  Conseil  Souverain,  1  et  S  /Vy.,  1694 


328 


AN   INTKUMIDK 


FronfcMinc    sIiowcmI    gront    nKMlcrMlion.    Imf    .rp, 
vi»li(Miirnt.  Jind    lIuMi    violent,  jis  the    (lisj)iif(>  j,|^ 
(H'imUmI  ;  !is  (li<l  ;ils(»  llu*  jitloiiu'V-iitMUMal.  w  lio 


't't'il 


lo  Ii:iv(»  (loiu*   Ins   \)vM    to  (»\iis|)('rMt(*  liiin.      V\ 
tonne    jillirnied     lluit.    in    dc^privini^    IMiircnil    ; 
otlitM's  of   (ho  sMornnu'nls,  willi   no   proof  of  nuj 
:ni(1  no  provions  Nviirninu'.  juid  on  .•illo'ifMlions  \\lii( 
ovon   if  <rno,  oonld   not    jnstifv  tin*  iict,  the  IhsIi 
o\('(hm1(m1  liis  powors,  and  troncliod  on  those  of  i 
kini!;.      '!'h(»    ])oint    was    (hdicatc*.     The    allmn, 
giMioral  avoido(]  thi*  issno.  tried  to  raise  oliieis.  m 
revived  the  ohl  (piarrid  ahont   Frontonae's  pine 
the  c'onneil,  whicdi  had   hiHMi  setthMJ  fonrteen  vi 
boU)i'o.     OthcM'    (pu^stions   wore    hron!j,ht    up.  ,11 
anurilv   dohatod.     Tho    i2:overnor    detnandiMl    tlj 
the   dohatos,   ah)ni::  with    the   papers  which  iiiti^ 
(hioed  llioni,  slionhl   1)0  ontiMHMJ  on  tho  record,  ilii 
tho  king  might   ho  inforinod  of  ovory  thiiiu-;  l» 
tho   diMnand    was    rofnsod.     The    discord: 


(>i 


ooniioil   o]innd)er   sproad    into   tho   towni.     i>\\v 
was  dividod    nirainst   itsolf.     Maronil    insulted  tl 


bisl 


101 


d 


ind  son  10  o 


f  hi 


IS  soapoirraoo  svnn)!iilii/oi 


ipc 


V 


])roko  the  prolato's  wdndows  at  night,  and  smash 
Ids  chamber-door.^  Maronil  was  at  last  ordcn 
to  prison,  and  the  whole  affair  was  referred  to  tl 

kiniX- 
Th( 


esc    proceedings   consnmed    the    sprnig.  t 


d    th< 


md 


snmmei 
an  accc! 
he  launched  interdictions 


t  of  the  autumn.     Meaiiwhi 


d  to  seize  the  bislio[ 


) ;  ai 


to  the  riixht   and  le 


1  Champigny  an  Miuistn,  27  Oct.,  1G94. 

^  Registre  du  Conseil  iSouvaain  ;  liequeste  du  Sietir  de  Mareiiil,  Nov.,  16 


I" 


8AINT- VAi,r,ii:n  and  calmI:im;s. 


.^29 


II.    Init    <ri"01 

(lisj)iit('    y\y 
al,  wlio  srcij 

^  liiin.     I'VoJ 
Marniii    m 
)r()ol'  of   uii 

ft,  the  l)isli( 
II  Ihosc  (»!'  t| 
I'lii'    nllnrmH 
so  others,  ai 
^line's  place 

lOlirtiMMl  veil 
ii<j,'lil    np.  a 
iMiiandfil    tlij 
^   uh'u'li  iiitil 
le  rcM'onl.  \\\i 
ry  tirm,u';  li^ 
soords   oi    il 
own.     i}\\vh\ 
I    insulU'd  tl 
svnii)aihi/.ol 
,  and  snuislu 
t  last  ordiTi 
?ferre(l  to  tl 

• 

0    spvinij:.  tl 
.     Meanwliil 
le  bishop 
iixlit   and  k'( 


M  ('haMiplii,ny  was  starlhM]  nvIicii  \w  \'v{[\ho(\ 
saciaiiionls  to  all  hiit  i'oiir  oi*  liw  of  llic  mill- 
fv  oiru'ors  for  allon-cMJ  taiiiix'iiM;^'  widi  llio  pay  of 
ir  soldiers,  a  inallor  uliolly  williin  llio  pioviiirc? 
the  (omnorai   aiilhoi'ilios.'      Dininii'   a,   rccrcss  of 

1  il 

(  coiiiicil,  \\v  sol.  out  on    a    pastoral    lonr,  and, 


TlVIl 


it    T\ 


ivrv 


I 


UN'ors,    oxcoinininiica 


led 


an 


nil' 


[vv  iiaimMJ  Dosjordis  for  a  roptilod  inliiL'tio  with 

uifo  of  anothor  ollicor.      lie   iioxl   roj)aii'od  to 

(Land,  ])oin;^  thor(M)n  a  Sunday,  was  told  that 

I  ollicors    had    noglected    to   y^o   to   mass.      Ho 

to   Frontonac,  com])lainin<i;   of   the  olToncio. 

iti'iiac  sont  for  tho  culprits,  and  rohukofl  IIkmii  ; 

p.  iiiMct  ri'traxMod  his  words  whon  I  hoy  prov(Ml   hy  sov- 

wilnosscs  that  thoy  had   boon   duly  prosont  at 

rilc.'^     Tho  bishop  thon  wont  up  to  Montroal, 

111  discoi'd  wont  with   him. 

|ExcTpt    Frontonac;    alono,    (Jallioros,    tho    local 

vinior,  was  tho  man  in  all  Canada  to  whom  tho 

iiitry  owed  most ;  but,  like  his  chi(»f,  ho  was  a 

lii'iid  of  the  liocollots,  and  this  did  not  {!()mmoiul 

1  to  the   bishop.     The  friars  were  about,  to  re- 

10  two  novices  into  their  order,  and  they  invited 

bishop  to  ofliciate  at  the  (^n'omony.     Callieren 

<  also  present,  kneel  in <^  at  a  2)rie-dlcn,  or  prayer- 

k,  near  tlic  middle  of  the  churcdi.     Saint- Vallier, 

|iviug  just  said  mass,  Avas  seating  himself   in   his 

nii-cliair,  close  to  the  altar,  Avlien  be  saw  Callierea 

dhnmpujmi  an  Minisirp,  24  Oct.,  1(304.     Trouble  on  this  matter  had 
Iran  some  time  before.     Memnire  dit  liO/j  jiour  Frontenac  et  Chaniinyny, 
If  Miwsire  a  I'l^reque,  8  Mai,  1004." 

,  28  ^( pi.,  1004  ;   Cluvnpignij  an  Ministrt^ 


il 


via  .Molle- Cadillac  a 


k  Mareuil,  Nov.,  IfmOd ,  1G:)4. 


330 


AN  INTERLUDE. 


[It 


at  the  prie-dieUy  with  the  position  of  which  ho  \n 
already  found  fault  as  being  too  honorable  for 
subordinate  governor.     lie  now  rose,  aj)proacln 
the  object  of  his  disapproval,  and  said,  *•  Mou>icM 
you  are  taking  a  place  which  belongs  only  lu  Moj 
eieur  de  Frontenac."     Callieres  replied   that  tl 
place  was   that  which   properly  belonged  to  hii 
The  bishop  rejoined  that,  if  he  did  not  leave  it, 
himself  would  leave  the  church.     "  You  can  do 
you  please,"  said  Callieres ;  and  the  prelate  \vi( 
drew  abruptly  through  the  sacristy,  refusing  j^ 
farther  part  in  the  ceremony.^     When  the  servic 
wei'e  over,  he  ordered    the  friars    to  remove 
obnoxious prie-dieu.     They  obeyed;  but  an  oRu 
of  Callieres  replaced   it,  and,  unwilling  to  offel 
him,  they    allowed    it    to  remain.     On    this,  t] 
bishop  laid  their  church  under  an  interdict;  tl 
IS,  he  closed  it  against  tha  celebration  of  all 
rites  of  religion.^     He  then  issued  a  pastoral  ma 
date,  in  which  he  charged  Father  Joseph  Deiij 
their  superior,  with  offences  which  he  "  dared 
name  for  fear  of  making  the  paper  blush."  ^ 
tongue  was  less  bashful  than  his  pen ;  and  he  g£ 
out  publicly  that  the  father  superior  had  acted; 
go-between  in  an  intrigue  of  his  sister  with 


1  Prochs-verhal  dn  Pere  Hyncinthp.  Perrniitf,  Commissntre  Proriiir<:n\ 
H^collets    {Archives   Naitonah:s)  ;    M^inoire   touchant   le    Jj^ineal^  inii 
VJ^vcsqne  de  Qn€htc  et  le    Chevalier  de   Callieres   (Ibid.). 

2  Mondcmrtit  ordonnnut  de  ferinrr  I'l^tjUse  d(S  Rtfcollets,  18  ^f<u,  IGO 
8  "Le  Superieur  du  dit  Couvent  estant  lie  avec  lu  Gouveriieiin 

lite  ville  par  des  interests  que  tout  le  nionde  scait  et  qu'on  u'ohiuIi 
primer  de  peur  de  faire  roujfir  le  pajjier."  Extrait  du  Manddhn 
VEvesque  de  Quebec  [Archives  Natioii(dts).  He  had  before  i'li;il 
Marcuil  with  language  "  capable  de  faire  rougir  le  ciel." 


THE  QUARREL  SPREADS. 


331 


Jevaller  cle  Callieres.^  It  is  said  that  the  aociisa- 
dn  was  groundless,  and  the  character  of  the 
ODian  wholly  irreproachable.  The  Recollets 
^bmitied  for  two  months  to  the  bishop's  inter- 
ift.  then  refused  to  obey  longer,  and  opened 
^ir  church  again. 

I  Quebec,  Three  Rivers,  Sorel,  and  Montreal  had 
ijeen  ruffled  by  the  breeze  of  these  dissensions, 
i]  the  farthest  outposts  of  the  wilderness  were 
t  too  remote  to  feel  it.  La  Motte-Cadillac  had 
en  f<ent  to  replace  Louvigny  in  the  command  of 
eliillimackinac,  where  he  had  scarcely  arrived, 
ien  trouble  fell  upon  him.  ''  Poor  Monsieur  de 
iJIotte-Cadillac,"  says  Frontenac,  "  would  have 
it  you  a  journal  to  show  you  the  persecutions 
cks  suffered  at  the  post  where  I  placed  him,  and 
lere  he  does  wonders,  having  great  influence 
|fertlie  Indians,  wdio  both  love  and  fear  him,  but 
lias  had  no  time  to  copy  it.     Means  have  been 

id  to  excite  against  him  three  or  four  ollicers 
|tlie  posts  dependent  on  his,  who  have  put  upon 

such  strange  and  unheard  of  affronts,  that  I 
8s  obliged  to  send  them  to  prison  when  they  came 
kn  to  the  colony.  A  certain  Father  Carheil,  the 
kiit  who  wrote  me  such  insolent  letters  a  few 

'  "Mr.  r^vesque  accuse  publiqucnient  le  Kuv.  I'ere  Joseph,  superieur 

iRe'c'ollots  de  Montreal,  d'etre  rentreniettpur  d'une  galanterie  eiitrc 

Mret  le  Gouverneur.     Cependant  M\   I'Evesque  salt  certainemeiit 

iie  Pore  Joseph  est  Tun  des  nieilleurs  et  des  phis  saints  religieux  de 

lordre.    Ce  qu'il  allegue  du  i)retc'ndu  coinnuTce  etitre  le  Gouverneur 

iDame  de  la  JS'audierc  {soeur  du  Fere  Joscpli)  est  entiereuient  faux,  et 

|i public  avec  scandab,  sans  preuve  et  conlre  touto  apparence,  la  ditto 

meayaiit  toujours  eu  una  conduite  irrc'prochahle.'      Sf^moire  tonchant 

'(iMsk,  etc.     Champigny  also  says  that  the  bishop  i.,sa  Iiroiight  this 

lfi;e  ami  that  Callicres  declares  tiiat  he  has  told  a  falsehood.     Cluim- 

,w  Mi nistre,  27  Oct.,  1G94. 


332 


AN  INTERLUDE. 


[K 


years  ago.  has  plaj^ed  an  anaziiig  part  in  this  affa 
I  shall  write  about  it  to  Father  La  Chaise,  thiit 
may  set  it  right.     Some  remedy  must  be  fou; 
for,  if  it  continues,  none  of  the  officers  who  woj 
sent  to  Michillimackinac,  the  Miamis,  the  lllinoj 
and  other  places,  can  stay  there  on  account  of  tl 
persecutions  to  which  they  are  snl)jected,  jnid  tl 
refusal  of  absolution  as  soon  as  they  fail  to  do  \\h 
is  wanted  of  them.     Joined  to  all  this  i>s  a  sliam 
ful  traffic  in  influence  and  money.     Monsieur 
Tonty  could  have  w^ritten  to  you  about  it,  if  he  h^ 
not  been  obliged  to  go  off  to  the  Asshuuhoins, 
rid  himself  of  all  these  torments."  *     In  iact,  tliel 
was  a  chronic   dispute   at  the   forest  outposts 
tween  the  officers  and  the  Jesuits,  concerning  wlii^ 
matter  much  raiiirht  be  said  on  both  sides. 

The  bishop  sailed  for  France.     ^'  He  has  goiu 
writes  Callieres, "  after  quarrelling  with  evervbod 
The  various  points  in  dispute  w^ere  set  before  t| 
king.     An   avalanche   of   memorials,  letters,  \\\ 
proces-verhcnix,  descended    upon   the  unrortinu 
monarch;  some  concerning  Mareuil  and  the  (jiia 
rels  in  the  council,  othei's  on  the  exconununicntij 
of  Desjordis,  and  others  on  the  troubles  at  Mc 
treal.     They  were  all  referred  to  the  king's  prij 
council.^     An  adjustment  was  effected:   order.] 
not  harmony,  was  restored ;  and  the  usual  distrll 
tion  of  advice,  exhortation,  reproof,  and  iiiena^ 
was  made  to  the  parties  in  the  strife.     Fronter 
was  commended  for  defending  the  royal  prcro^ 

1  Front auic  a  M.  dc  LiKjnji,  'J  Nou.,  1695. 

-  Arrest,  qui  ordonnc.  qnc  Its  Procedures  fiiltes  eiilre  le  Sienr  7:n-'/"^ 
Quebec  it  Ics  Steurs  Marrail,  Desjordis,  etc.,  serout  t'roqnez  uu  CuiiHtii  /l 
de  tSa  Majesty,  3  Juillet,  1G95. 


LIBEL   AGAINST  FRONTENAC. 


333 


^e,censnrefl  for  violence,  and  adinonislied  to  avoid 

Lire  quarrels.'     Chanipigny  was  reproved  for  not 

Lorling  the  governor,  and  told   that  "  his  Maj- 

iw  sees  with  great  pain  that,  while  he  is  making 

(jiraordinary  efforts  to  sustain  Canada  at  a  tinie 

1  critical,  all  his  cares  and  all  his  outlays  are  rnado 

|iele>;s  hy  your  misunderstanding  with   Monsieur 

;Frontenac."  ^  The  attorney-general  was  sharply 

[primanded,  told  that  he  must  mend  his  wa}'s  or 

his  place,  and  ordered  to  make  an  apology  to 

k  governor.^      Villeray  was  not   honored  by  a 

Iter,  but  the  intendant  was  directed  to  tell  him 

|;itlii'^  behavior  had  greatly  displeased  the  king. 

lieres  was  mildly  advised  not  to  take  part  in  the 

kputes  of  the  bishop  and  the  Recollets."*     Thus 

u*  conjured  down  one  of  the  most  bitter  as  well 

itlie  most  needless,  trivial,  and  untimely,  of  the 

brrels  that  enliven  the  annals  of  New  France. 

I A  generation  later,  wdien  its  incidents  had  faded 

Bin  memory,  a  passionate  and  reckless  partisan, 

tbe  La  Tour,  published,  and  probably  invented, 

litory  which  later  writers  have  copied,  till  it  now 

psan  accepted  episode  of  Canadian  history.    Ac- 

pling  to  him,  Frontenac,  in  order  to  ridicule  the 

!r;,^y,  formed  an  amateur  company  of  comedians 

ressly  to  play  "  Tartuffe ; "  and,  after  rehearsing 

the  chateau  during  three  or  foin^  months,  they 

led  the  piece  before  a  large  audience.    "  He  was 

Pt  satisfied  with  having  it  played  at  the  chateau, 

lit  wanted  the  actors  and  actresses  and  the  dan- 

'  Le  Ministre  a  frontenac,  4  Juin,  1G'J5  ;  Ibid.,  8  Juin,  1G95. 

•  La  Ministre  a  Champignji,  \  Juiu,  161)5;  Ibid.,  8  Jniii,  1095. 
'  Le  Ministre  a  d'Auteuil,  8  ./ttin,  1695. 

*  Le  Ministre  a  Callieres,  8  .hiin,  1095. 


334 


AN  INTERLUDE. 


1161 


cers,  male  and  female,  to  go  in  full  costume,  wij 
violins,  to  play  it  in  all  the  religious  commnnitic 
except  the  Recollets.     He  took  them  first  to  tl 
house  of  the  Jesuits,  where  the  crowd  entered  wij 
him ;  then  to  the  Hospital,  to  the  hall  of  the  paj 
pers,  whither  the  nuns  were  ordered  to  repair;  th 
he  went  to  the   Ursuhne  Convent,  assem!)le(l  t| 
si.terhood,  and  had  the  piece  played  before  tlioi 
To  crown  the  insult,  he  wanted  next  to  go  to  tl 
seminary,  and  repeat  the  spectacle  there ;  but,  wai 
ing  having  been  given,  he  was  met  on  the  way,  ai 
begged  to  refrain.    He  dared  not  persist,  and  wil 
drew  in  very  ill-humor."  ^ 

Not  one  of  numerous  contemporary  papers,  boj 
official  and  private,  and  written  in  great  part 
enemies  of  Frontcnac,  contains  the  slightest  oil 
sion  to   any  such   story,  and   many  of  them 
wholly  inconsistent  with  it.     It  may  safely  be 
down  as  a  fabrication  to  blacken  the  memory 
the  governor,  and  exhibit  the  bishop  and  his 
herents  as  victims  of  persecution.^ 

1  La  Tour,  Vie  de  Laval,  liv.  xii. 

2  Had  an  outrage,  like  that  with  which  Frontenac  is  here  chari 
actually  taken  place,  the  registers  of  the  council,  the  letters  of  the] 
tendant  and  the  attorney-general,  and  the  records  of  the  bislioprid 
Quebec  would  not  have  failed  to  sliow  it.  They  show  notliing  bcyd 
a  report  that  "  Tartuffe  "  was  to  be  played,  and  a  payment  of  money  byl 
bisliop  in  order  to  prevent  it.  We  are  left  to  infer  that  it  was  prevpg 
accordingly.  I  have  the  best  authority  —  that  of  the  superior  of  j 
convent  (1871),  herself  a  diligent  investigator  into  the  history  of  liorc 
munity  —  for  stating  that  neither  record  nor  tradition  of  the  occurra 
exists  among  the  Ursulines  of  Quebec ;  and  I  have  been  unable  to  1| 
that  any  such  exists  among  the  nuns  of  the  Hospital  (Hotcl-Dieu). 
contemporary  R^cit  d'ttne  Rdigieuse  Ursulwe  speaks  of  Frontenac 
gratitude,  as  a  friend  and  benefactor,  as  does  also  Mother  Juclier^ 
superior  of  the  Hotel-Dieu. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


1690-1694. 


THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA. 


iiTE  OP  THAT  Colony.  —  The  Abenakis.  —  Acadia  and  New 
I  England.  —  Pirates.  —  Bakon  de   Saint-Cartix.  —  Pentegoet. 

•  The  English  Frontier.  —  The  French   and  the  abenakis. 

•  Plan    of    the    War.  —  Capture    of    York.  —  Villebon. — 
Grand  War-party.  —  Attack  op  Wells.  —  Pemaquid  rebuilt. 

I -John  Nelson.  —  A  Broken  Treaty.  —  Villieu  and  Thury. 
I -Another  War-party.  —  Massacre  at  Oyster  River. 

Amid  domestic  strife,  the  war  with  England  and 

fe  Iroquois  still  went  on.     The  contest  for  terri- 

rial  mastery  was  fourfold  :  first,  for  the  control 

the  west ;  secondly,  for  that  of  Hudson's  Bay  ; 

rdly,  for  that  of  Newfoundland ;  and,  lastly,  for 

at  of  Acadia.    All  these  vast  and  widely  sundered 

[gioiis  were  included  in  the  government  of  Fron- 

.    Each  division  of  the  Avar  was  distinct  from 

lerest,  and  each  had  a  character  of  its  own.     As 

fe  contest  for  the  west  was  wholly  with  New  York 

ad  her  Iroquois  allies,  so  the  contest  for  Acadia  was 

[holly  with  the  "  Bostonnais,"  or  people  of  New 

Bgland. 

I  Acadia,  as  the  French  at  this  time  imderstood 
k  name,  included  No.va  Scotia,  New  Brunswick, 
kd  the  greater  part  of  Maine.     Sometimes  they 


836 


THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA. 


11G7(>- 


placcd  its  western  boundary  at  the  little  River  J 
George,  and  sometimes  at  the  Kennebec.     S 
tlie  wars  of  D'Aiilnay  and  La  Tour,  this  w ildt'iuoi 
had  been  a  scene  of  unceasing  strife;  for  the  L'l 
lish  drew  their  eastern  boundary  at  the  St.  Cioj 
and  the  claims  of  the  rival  nationalities  overlani) 
each  other.     In  the  time  of  Cromwell,  Sedgwick 
New  England  otlicer,  had  seized  the  whole  coiuur 
The    peace   of    Breda  restored   it  to   France :  t 
Chevalier  de  Grandfontaine  was  ordered  to  reoccii 
it,  and   the   king  sent  out    a   few   soldiers,  a  1 
settlers,  and  a  few  women  as  their  wives. ^    Gram 
fontaine  held  the  nominal  command  for  a  tii 
followed  by  a  succession  of  military  chiefs,  Cliambl, 
Marson,  and  La  Valliere.    Then  Perrot,  whose  m 
practices  had  cost  him  the  government  of  Montie; 
was  made  governor  of  Acadia;  and,  as  he  did  ii 
mend  his  ways,  he  Avas  replaced  by  Meneval.'- 

One  might  have  sailed  for  days  along  tli 
lonely  coasts,  and  seen  no  human  form.  At  Cf 
seau,  or  Chedabucto,  at  the  eastern  end  of  Xo 
Scotia,  there  was  a  fishino^  station  and  a  fort;  C 
buctou,  now  Halifax,  was  a  solituuo  ;  at  Lii  He 
there  were  a  few  fishermen ;  and  liience,  as  v 
doubled  the  rocks  of  Cape  Sable,  the  ancient  li; 
of  La  Tour,  you  would  have  seen  four  Frei 
settlers,  and  an  unlimited  number  of  seals  and  s 


•  In  1G71,  SO //o-rj'o?).'!  anrl  oOjVIes  were  sent  by  the  king  to  Acadiiij 
the  cost  of  0  000  livres.     J'Jfat  de  De'prnses,  1G71. 

~  Grnndfontaine,  1G70;  Chamhly,  1073  ;  Mars^on,  1078 ;  L;i  Vaili 
the  same  year,  ^Nlarson  having  died  ;  Perrot,  1684;  Meneval,  1G87. 
last  three  were  commissioned  as  local  governors,  in  suhordiiiation  toj 
governor-general.    The  others  were  merely  military  coramanclants. 


liOTa-Bifo-PO.] 


STATE  OF  ACADIA. 


337 


lie  king  to  Acaili;»< 


Li.    Ranging  the  shore  by  St.  Mary's  Bay,  and 

Leiiiig  the  kStralt  of  Annapolis  Basin,  you  would 

||;ive  found  the  fort  of  Port  Boy;d,  the  chief  place 

all  Acadi-'i.     It  stood  at  the  head  of  the  basin, 

IflitMv  De  IN^onts  liad  planted  his  settlement  nearly 

lieeiitiuy  before.     Around  Ihe  fort  and  along  the 

lieidi^xjring    river  were   al)out    ninety-five    small 

louses ;  and  at  the  head  of  the  Bav  of  Fundy  were 

ko  other  settlements,  Beaubassin  and  Lcs  Mines, 

Ifoinparatively  stable  and  popidous.     At  the  mouth 

ii  the  St.  John  were  the  abandoned  ruins  of  La 

lloiir's  old  fort ;    and  on  a  spot  less  ex])osed,  at 

lioiiie  distance  up  the  ri^/er,  stood  the  small  wooden 

liort  of  Jemsec,  with  a  few  intervening:   clearin<i:s. 

Still  sailing  westward,  passing  Mount  Desert,  an- 

piier  scene   of   ancient  settlement,  and   entering 

jPenobscot  Bay,  you  would  have  found  the  Baron 

|e  Saint-Castin  with  his  Indian  hai'em   at  Pente- 

oet,  ^vllere  the  town  of  Castine  now  stands.     All 

ieadia  was  comprised    in  these  various    stations, 

Boie  or  less  permanent,  together  with  one  or  two 

nail  posts  on  the  Gidf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  the 

flits  of  an  errant  population  of  fishermen  and  fur 

iraders.     In   the  time  of  Denonville,  the  colonists 

|iiiin])ered  less  than  a  tliousand  souls.     The  king, 

ii;>iiMl  with  nursing  Canada,  had  neglected  its  less 

mportant  dependency.^ 

Iviule  as  it  was,  Acadia  had  charms,  and  it  has 
bem  still :    in    its   wilderness    of   woods    and    its 


'  The  consus  taken  by  order  of  ^Monies  in  IGSG  gives  a  total  of  885 
fsnns,  of  whoni  5<)2  were  at  Tort  Royal,  and  127  at  Beaubassin.  By 
f census  of  16')3,  the  number  luid  rouehed  1,009. 

22 


338 


TIIR   WAR   IN   ACADIA 


[107M 


11 1 


wildernePf  A  waves  ;  the  rocky  ramparts  that  trnni 
its  coasts  I  its  deep,  still  bays  and  foamint^  henc 
lands ;  the  towernig  cliffs  of  the  Grand  Meiian  ;  tl 
innumerable  islands  tliat  cluster  a])out  Pen(,!)sr!( 
Bay;  and  the  romantic  hi<^hlandsof  Mount  Dcsci 
down  whose  gorges  the  sea-fog  rolls  like  an  iiunf 
ing  host,  w  i^e  ".e  >pires  of  fi"-;rees  pierce  ll 
surging  vapOi.v  iikr  lances  in  the  smoke  of  ))attl(\| 

Leaving  i^eu    god   and  sailing  westward  all  dj 
along  a  solitude   of  woods,  one   might  reach  i] 
English  outpost   of    Pemaquid,    and    thence,   st3 
sailing  on,  might  anchor  at  evening  off  Casco  Bai 
and  see  in  the  glowing  west  the  distant  peaks 
the  White  Mountains,  speatral  and  dim  amid  tl 
weird  and  fiery  sunset. 

Inland  Acadia  was  all  forest,  and  vast  tracts 
it  are  a  primeval  fore   :   still.     Here  roamed  tl 
Abenakis  with  their  kindred  tribes,  a  race  wild 
their  haunts.     In  habits  they  were  all  much  alikj 
Their  villages  were  on  the  waters  of  the  Anm 
scoggin,  the  Saco,  the  Kennebec,  the  Penobscot,  tl 
St.  Croix,  and  the  St.  John  ;  here  in  spring  the 
planted  their  corn,  beans,  and  pumpkins,  and  the^ 
leaving  them  to  grow,  went  down  to  the  sea 
their  birch  canoes.      They  returned  towards  tl 
end  of  summer,  gathered  their  harvest,  and  wei 
again  to  the  sea,  where  they  lived  in  abundance 
ducks,  geese,  and  other  water-fowl.    During  wiiitej 
most  of  the  women,  children,  and  old  men  remainc 
in  the  villages ;  wdiile  the  hunters  ranged  the  fore 
in  chase  of  moose,  deer,  caribou,  beavers,  and  bear 

Their  summer  stay  at  the  seashore  was  perhaj 


JM 


THE  ABENAKIS. 


339 


?  most  plensant,  and  certainly  the  most  pictur- 
no,  par  of  ihr'ir  lives.  TJivouacked  by  some  of 
iMiimiii    rablc  coves  and  inlets  that  indent  these 

s,  tue>'  passed  their  days  in  tl  at  alternation 
iiidoler!  ?  and  action  which  i^'  u  second  nature  to 
^IrJioii.  Here  in  wc'.  weather,  while  the  torpid 
ler  was  dimpled  with  rain-diops,  and  the  \\\)- 
,Tic(1  canoes  lay  idle  on  the  pebbles,  the  listless 
rrior  smoked  his  pipe  under  his  roof  of  bark,  or 
nclicd  his  slender  craft  at  the  dawn  of  the  July 
iV.wlien  shores  and  islands  were  painted  in  shadow 
jiinst  the  rosy  east,  and  forests,  dusky  and  cool, 
Mvaiting  for  the  sunrise. 

The  v'oraen  gathered  raspberries  or  whortle- 
rries  in  the  open  places  of  the  woods,  or  clams 
j  oysters  in  the  sands  and  shalloAvs,  adding  their 
ells  as  a  contribution  to  the  shell-heaps  that  have 

miilated  for  ao;es  alonf!:  these  shores.  The  men 
kl,  speared  porpoises,  or  shot  seals.  A  priest 
is  often  in  the  camp  watching  over  his  flock,  and 
innj^  mass  every  day  in  a  chapel  of  bark.    There 

no  lack  of  altar  candles,  made  by  mixing  tal- 
iwith  the  wax  of  the  bay  berry,  which  aboimded 
ong  the  rocky  hills,  and  was  gathered  in  profu- 
r'y  the  squaws  and  children. 
The  Abenaki  missions  were  a  complete  success. 
t  only  those  of  the  tribe  who  had  been  induced 
migrate  to  the  mission  villages  of  Canada,  but 

those  who  remained  in   their  native  woods, 
re,  or  were  soon  to  become,  converts  to  Roman- 

and  therefore  allies  of  France.  Though  less 
bcious  than  the  Iroquois,  they  were  brave,  after 


^ti: 


3H) 


TIIK    \\.\n    IN    ACADIA. 


(I'lTl 


llu^  Indiini  iniimuM-,  lunl  {]\vy  nirolj  or  iirvrr  |ir| 
tisod  (<Mnnil)Mlisin. 

Soni(»  of  IIh^  l''r(MU'li  wovo  i\^  ImuItsm  ns  l]i 
(H:\n  lVi(Mi(1s.  Nolliiiii''  is  ihoim*  sliMHiic  ll 
in<M>n'''nu>iis  ini\lni'<*  of  IIk*  forms  of  fciidnli 


III  wl 


lli(^    in(l(»|)(Mi(l(MUM'    of    ili(*    A('iuli;ni    woods.      \' 
i;'rnnis  of  Innd  wcvo  inM(I(*  lo  viirioiis  piMsoii^    d] 
of  whom  ;ii"(^  ('IjMrL''(Ml  willi  usini;'  IIkmii  for  no  oi 
])in"|)os(^  i]\i\]\  ro;imin<;'  ov<M'  llioir  (lomaiiis  willi 


(iijin  wonKMi, 


TI 


\o  onl\"  s( 


'Hlod 


iiiirKMilliir.'i 


Hll 


l;\lion    WMs    nl     Tori     1u»\mI,    H(\ml>;issin,   .'m<l 


IV 


\sin    o 


f    M 


IIIMS. 


Tl 


\o    vvM    wvvv 


lisl 


KM'UKM). 


trjid(Ms.  or  rov(M's  of   tlio    fon^si.      IJi^pcMlcd  onl] 
onnu^  from  lluM'oniM  lo  optMi  ncomimmicalioii  w 
OiudxM'.  jind    (^viMi    to    (^slnMish   .'i   line  of  iniliti 


I 


x^s 


ts  n 


u'ouir 


h    tl 


\c   ml(M'V(Mnim-  wniHM'ncss,  lui 


ll 


disliiiu'o  nnd  \\\c  nnlural  dilVu'ullit\s  of  \\w  coimi 
proved  insnrmoimlMhU^  ol)sl;u*K\s.  If  ('oinnuinij 
tion  with  (JiudxM^  -svns  dilVuMill,  thai  with  Dosl 
was  oasy  ;  jnid  thus  Aradia  IxM'amo  lar<;('lv  (K'p^ 
dont  on  its  Now  Knu'land  iicii»'hl)ors,  who,  si\> 
Acadian  oHicor,  '' nro  mostly  fiio-ilivos  from  K 
land,  o'uillv  of   the   death   of    tluMr   late  kiiii;'. 


leensed  of  eonspn'aey  ai^'ainst   tluMr  present  sov 


t  th 


cign ;  others  ol  them  are  pn'ates,  and  tiny  ;in 
united  in  a  sort  of  independent  repuhlie."  '  T 
relations  with  the  Aeadians  were  of  a  mlx(Ml  ^ 
They  continually  encroached    on    Acadian   (i>li 


gi 


ounds,  and  we  hear  at  one  time  of  a  huinhvdj 


their  vessels  thus  en  paired.    This  was  not  all. 


'n"» 


interlopers  often  landed  and  traded  with  the  Indl 


1  Mtfi 


inoire  ( 


hi  .S 


iiur  hinficr, 


1686. 


IIKIIKHY. 


n  1 1 


11 


M' 


CO 


1Mf. 


M 


rtlcVM 


1,    (I 


i(»   governor,   corn- 


Mi  )M(lcil\'of  fli(»ir  iino«nnic('.     Somcliincs   'ifc 

I  r  1  ' 

1.  Ilicv  prclciulcd    \i)  !»(•    lorci'!,!!    piinlcs,  jiik) 


iidtMcd  vc  ^-^cIm  jiihI  s«>HlcmcnfM,  \vliil(!  I  lie  fv^' 
i'VimI  pjitlicM  could  get  no  rcdicsM  ul  IJoslon. 
I'vnlso  cnrricd  on  i\  rcnriil-ii-  hndc  nl  Pml  iJoynl 
1  l«cM  Mines  or  (ir.'in<l  i'n',  where  ninny  of  \\\v. 
iIii(:in(M  re!'iird<Ml  tliein  willi  n  dcLiree  of  f;ivor 
I'll  ;'nve  |i,i'eMl  nnil»r{i'!,'e  fo  tlx'  iiidiliii')'  iiiilliori- 


wlio,  nevei 


llnd 


esM,  Jii'c 


III 


lenisel V('H   ,'icciise< 


I    of 


viii'j  (lieir  own  |)rorii  l>v  de;ilin"!'s  willi  llie  liei(^- 

;  ;iinl  even  l^'rencli  prieslM,  lnclndiii;j;   IN'lil,  IIm; 

>'•  {)i  \\)vl  Iloyid,  JU'e  cli}ii';j,"e(|  willi  c.irryinL!,'  on 

illicii  Irnde  in  llieir  own  l»eli!ilf,  ;ind  in  llinl.  of 


^('inin.'iry  ol 


(inci 


)ec 


'1^ 


ri 


K^   S< 


HI 


ers  cJiii'Th 


I  f 


roin 


I'oslotniiiis"  w'liiii  llieir  ;j,<>\('rnor  sli;^iii;ili/(!H 
I,iii;lisli  jind  j);irli;nnenljiiy  ideiis,  llie  chief  cUV-ct 
Iwliicli  WHS  lo  mjiko  liicni  restive  nn(h;r  his  rule. 
'  ('liiirch,  inoi'eovei',  was  less  siK^jessfnl  in  (;x- 
Thil;-  heresy  from  Acjidiji,  Ih.'in  fioin  (niuidji.  A 
iiIhm"   of    Hn^iienofs   eslnhlished    iherns(dves  at 

ith 


l{()\al. 


d 


nid  lornied  s)  iii|)jilhelie  relalions  vvi 


lal 


r)()slon  IMirilans.  'I'he  hishop  .'it  QuehciC  was 
cli  iilarnied.  "This  Is  dani'erons/'  ho  writes. 
ipniy  yonr  Majesty  to  put  an  end   to  these  dis- 

|A  sort  of  clironic  warfare  of  aggression  and  re- 


ii 


Y  I'Hrnjur  nil,  Jioij,  10  Nov.,  UiSo.  For  the  f)r('(;('(]injj  pfi^os,  tlit-  fiii- 
ntu's  ;iio  cliieny  tlio  fjoiTospondcncc!  of  GriUidfontiiino,  Mfirson,  La 
|iiw,  Mi'iic'viil,  lUr^ner,  Goiitiiis,  I't-rrot, 'raloii,  KioijiciiiK;,  and  other 
pis.  A  liirtje  eolk'cfion  of  Acadian  docnniciits,  frf«in  flie  archives  of 
p, is  in  my  possession.  1  have  also  cxaniincd  the  Ac;i<lian  collecliona 
Mor  tlie  government  of  Canada  and  for  tiiat  of  .Masbaeliusetta. 


342 


THE    WAR   IN   ACADIA. 


11070  ;k 


prisal,  closely  akin  to  piracy,  was  carried  on  J 
intervals  in  Acadian  waters  by  French  privai 
armed  vessels  on  one  lumd,  and  New  KiiLilaiiJ 
private  armed  vessels  on  the  other.  Ccnuiui 
pirates  also  frequently  appeared.  They  wciu 
various  nationality,  though  usually  bucciUKci 
from  the  West  Indies.  They  preyed  on  New  Vau 
land  trading  and  fishing  craft,  and  sometimes  i\\ 
tacked  French  settlements.  One  of  their  inoj 
notorious  ex})loits  was  the  capture  of  two  Fkik 
vessels  and  a  French  fort  at  Cliedabucto  hy  a  phut 
manned  in  part,  it  is  said,  from  Massachusetts.' 
similar  proceeding  of  earlier  date  was  tlie  act 
Dutchmen  from  St.  Domingo.  They  luude 
descent  on  the  French  fort  of  Pentegoet,  on  Puij 
obscot  Bay.  Chambly,  then  conniumding  for  il 
king  in  Acadia,  was  in  the  place.  They  assault 
his  works,  wounded  him,  took  him  prisoner,  ai 
carried  him  to  Boston,  where  they  held  liini 
ransom.  His  young  ensign  escaped  into  the  won 
and  carried  the  news  to  Canada;  but  many  niuiit| 
elapsed  before  Chambly  was  released.- 

This  young  ensign  was  Jean  Vincent  de  TAbaa 
Baron  de  Saint-Castin,  a  native  of  Beam,  on  t| 
slopes  of  the  Pyrenees,  the  same  rough,  stron> 


»g 


1  Meneval,  i/e/HOiVe,  1G88  ;  Denouville,  Me'moire,  18  Oct.,  lObS;  /'n 
verbal  du  Pillage  de  Chedahucto ;  lielaliun  de  hi  lionl/ai/e,  10b8. 

2  Frontenac  an  Ministre.,  14  Nov.,  1074  ;  Frontcnac  a  Lcvi'rrtl.gonr'- 
de  Daston,  24  Sept.,  1674  ;  Frontenac  to  the  Uocernor  and  Council  of  .\k 
chusetts,  25  J%,  ltJ75  (soe  3  .}fass.  Hist.  Cull.,  I.  01)  ;  Colbert  a  IW.^ 
15  Maij,  1675.  Frontenac  supposed  tlie  as!?!iilants  to  be  butvan^ 
They  had,  liowever,  a  commission  from  William  of  Oran^'e.  Hutu 
Bon  says  that  the  Dutch  again  took  Pentegoet  in  1670,  l)ut  were  dil 
ofE  by  ships  from  Boston,  as  tlie  English  claimed  the  place  for  tiij 
•elves. 


\r^-oo.] 


BARON  DE  SAINT-CASTIN. 


343 


iat  gave  to  Fruiicc  lior  Tlciiri  IV.     When  fifloou 

Iwirs  of  ngo,  ho  cjime  toCaiuidji  with  the  regiment 

oj  Ciirigniin-Sulieres,  ensign    in   the    company  of 

Ifbinbly;  and,  when  the  regiment  was  di.shanded, 

le  followed  his  natural   ])ent,  jind  betook  himself 

la  the  Acadian  woods.     At  this   time  there  was  a 

pro  bastioned  fort  at  Pentegoet,  mounted  with 

Mvo  small  cannon;  but  after  the  Dutch  attack  it 

tlliiito  decay.'     8aint-Castin,  meanwhile,  roamed 

fciMvoods  with  the  Indians,  lived  like  them,  formed 

U'lections    more    or   less    permanent   with    their 

lumen,  became  himself  a  chief,  and  gained  such 

(L'lidency  over  his  red  associates  that,  according 

[)  La   Ilontan,    they  looked   u[)on   him    as    their 

jitei.  ry  god.     He  was  bold,  hardy,  adroit,  tena- 

foiis;  and,  in  spite  of  his  erratic  habits,  had  such 

spiicity  for  business,  that,  if  we  may  believe  the 

Bine  somewhat   doubtful    authority,    he    made    a 

ktune  of  three  or  four  hundred  thousand  crowns. 

gains  came  chiefly  through  his  neighbors  of 

few  England,  wdiom  he  hated,  but  to  whom    he 

»lil  his   beaver  skins  at  an   ample  profit.      His 

uling  house  was  at  Pentegoet,  now  called  Castine, 

or  near  the  old  f o  t ;  a  perilous  spot,  which  he 

leciipied  or  abandoned  by  turns,  according  to  the; 

eeds  of  the  time.     Being  a  devout  Catholic   he 

feci  to  add  a  resident  priest  to  his  establishment 


'  On  its  condition  in  1G70,  Estaf  du  Fort  ct  Place  de  Pentcfjoft  fntt  en 
«<«  1(170,  lorsqne  les  Awjlois  Void  rendu.  In  1(171,  fourteen  soldiers  and 
^t  laborers  were  settled  near  the  fort.  Talon  mi  Minlstre,  2  Nov., 
fl  In  the  next  year,  Talon  reeoininends  an  rni'(n  dc.  ji/h-s  for  the 
Befit  of  Pentegoet.  M^moirc  stir  Ic.  Cumuhi,  ltj72.  As  late  as  1(VJ8,  we 
Acadian  officials  advisinii  the  reconstruction  of  the  fort. 


344 


THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA. 


1670-{i 


for  the  conversion  of  liLs  Inditm  friends;  ])iit.  ol 
serves  Father  Petit  of  Port  Ro>al,  who  knew  hii 
well,  "  he  himself  has  need  of  spu-itual  aid  to  sustij 
him  in  the  paths  of  virtue."  '    lie  usually  made  u^ 
visits  a  year  to  Port  Pojal,  where  he  <;;ave  lihcn 
gifts    to   the   church   of   which  he   was   the   clii( 
jDatron,  attended   mass   with   exemplaiy  dcNolioJ 
and    then,    shriven    of    his   sins,    returned    lo  h 
squaws  at  Pentegoet.     Perrot,  the  governor.  ]\\\ 
ligned  him  ;  the  motive,  as  Saiut-Castin  says,  hoi 
jealousy  of  his  success  in  trade,  for  Perrot  hiin> 
traded  largely  with  the  English  and  llie  Indian 
This,  indeed,  seems  to  have  been  his  chief  occiipj 
tion;  and,  as  Saint-Castin  Avas  his  principal  v'wi 
they  Avere   never   on    good    terms.      Saint-C;ist 
complained  to  Denonville.    •"'  Monsieur  Petit," 
writes,  "will  tell  von  everv  thiniji:.     I  will  oiih  > 
that  he  {Perrot)  kept  me  under  arrest  fioiii  il 
twenty-first  of  April  to  the  ninth  of  June,  on  p 
tence  of  a  little  weakness  I  had  for  some  womoj 
and  even  told  me  that  he  had  your  orders  to  do  i| 
but  that  is  not  what  troubles  him  ;  and  as  I  do  n 
believe   there  is  another  man  under  heaven  wi 
will  do  meaner  things  through  love   of  gain,  evi 
to  selling  brandy  by  the  pint  and  half-pinj  Ik'IoJ 
strangers  in  his  OAvn  house,  because  he  does  nj 
trust  a  single  one  of  his  servants, — I  see  plaii 
what  is  the  matter  with  him.     He  wants  to  be  t| 
only  merchant  in  Acadia."  ~ 

Peirot  was  recalled  this  very  year ;  and  his  si^ 

1  Petit  in  Saint- Vallicr,  Rstat  ih  I'l'i/lhe,  ?/J  (1856) 

2  Saiut-Casttn  a  Denonville,  2  ,/uiliet,  1G87. 


tm] 


PENTEGOET. 


315 


^<or,   Meneval,  received    instructions  in   regard 
Saint-Castin,  ^vliicli  show  that  the  king  or  hi.s 
linister   liad    a   clear   idea   l)oth   of   the    baron's 
[crits  and  of  his  faihngs.     The  new  governor  was 
flered  to  reqnire  hiin  to  a1)andon  '"his  vagal)on(l 
lunong  the  Indians,"  cease  all  trade  with  the 
:lisli,    and    establish    a    permanent   settlement. 
Ileiieval  was  farther  directed  to  assure  him  th;it, 
lie  conformed  to  the  royal  will,  and  led  a  life 
iiore  becoming  a  gentleman,"  he  might  expect 
[receive  proofs  of  liis  Majesty's  approval.^ 
I  In  (he  next  year,  Meneval  reported  that  he  had 
presented  to  Saint-Castin  th<3  necessity  of  refoi-m, 
that  in   consequence   he    had   abandoned   his 
[ide  with  the  English,  given  up  his  squaws,  m;ir- 
fil.  and  promised  to  try  to  make  a  solid  settle- 
lent."     True  he  had  reformed  before,  and  might 
m  to  reform  again  ;  but  his  faults  were  not  of 
fe  baser  sort :  he  held  his  honor  high,  and  was 
plianded  as  he  was  bold.     Tlis  wife  was  what 
pearly  chroniclers  Avould  call  an  Indian  ])rincess; 
phe  was  the  daughter  of  Madockawarido,  chief 
I  the  Penobscots. 

So  critical  was  the  position  of  his  post  at  Pente- 
m  that  a  stroma  fort  and  a  suflicient  irarrison 
piikl  alone  hope  to  maintain  it  against  the  pirates 


t'l  the  '•  Bostonnai; 


j> 


Its  vicissitudes  had  been 


py.     Standing  on  ground  cLiimed  by  the  Eng- 
p,  within  territory  which  had  been  granted  to 


'  1 1 


'  hslrnrfion  chi  Roi/  nn  Sienr  dc  Mriicra!,  5  Avn'l,  1087. 

^  yic'moire  du  Sienr  de  Moieral  sur  I'Amdie,  10  .SVy Y.,  1G88. 


34G 


TIIE  WAR  IN  ACADIA. 


|i(;:( 


the  Duke  of  York,  and  wlilcli,  on  lils  accession 
the  throne,  became  a  part  of  the  royal  (loiimin  I 
was  never  safe  from  attack.    In  108G,  it  \vn>  pi 
(lered  by  an   agent  of  Dougan.     In  1G87,  il   \ 
plundered   again;   and  in  the   next  year  Audi 
then    royal    governor,   anchored    before  it    in 
frigate,   the  "  Rose,"  landed  with  his  attciuLiiij 
and    stripped    the    building    of    all    it   coului 
except  a  small  altar  with  pictures  and  oruamciii 
which  they  found    in  the  principal   room.     S;ii 
Castin  escaped  to  the  woods;  and  Andros  soul  h 
word   by  an   Indian   that  his   property  wuiiM 
carried  to  Pemaquid,  and   that  he  could  have 
again  by  becoming  a  British  subject.     lie  lofii 
the  oifer.^ 

The  rival  English  post  of  Pemaquid  was  destroy 
as  we  have  seen,  by  tlie  Abenakis  in  1G89;  uikI. 
the  following  year,  they  and  their  French  allic  s  1 
made  such  havoc  among  the  border  settlement.^  il; 
nothing  was  left  east  of  the  Piscataqua  exce])t 
villages  of  Wells,  York,  and  Kittery.    Put  a  cliaii 
had   taken   place  in  the  temper  of  the  smmiu 
mainly  due  to  the  easy  conquest  of  Port  PovmI 
Phij^s,  and  to  an  expedition  of  the  noted  pari  is 
Church  by  wdiich  they  had  suffered  considerai 
losses.     Fear  of  the  English  on  one  hand,  and 
attraction  of  their   trade   on   the   other,  dl.<i 
many  of  them  to  peace.     Six  chiefs  signed  u  tr 
with  the  commissioners  of  Massachusetts,  and  pr( 
ised  to  meet  them  in  council  to  bury  the  hate 
for  ever. 


)()> 


^  M Jinoirc pr€sent^ an  Roj/  dWnfjhterrc,  lOS?  ;  >!in')if-C(isti'i:  h  Ihim 
7  Juiild,  1GS7 ;  Hutchinson  Collection,  502,  563  ;  Andros  T'rtids,  I  W6. 


^92. 1 


FRENCH    AND   AHKNAKIS. 


o4  I 


room.     »Sii 


The  French  were  filled  with  Jilnrin.  Peace  be- 
en the  A])enakis  and  the  ''  ])0.sloniiais  "  would  he 
t^islroiis  both  (o  Acadia  and  to  Canada,  because 
m  tribes  held  the  passes  through  ihc  northci'n 
,](>  I'll  CSS,  and,  so  long  as  Ihey  were  in  the  inter- 
a)f  France,  covered  llie  settlements  on  I  be  8t. 
urciice  from  attacdv.  Moreover,  the  L'overnment 
iW  on  them  to  fight  its  battles.  Therefore,  no 
lis  were  spared  to  break  off  tlieir  incl[)ienl  treaty 
till  the  English,  ;ind  spur  them  again  to  war. 
Ilehoii,  a  Canadian  of  good  birth,  one  ol"  V'aq 
others  of  Portneuf,  was  sent  by  the  king  to  gov- 
iiAeadiil.  Presents  for  the  Abenakis  were  given 
jiii  in  abundance  ;  and  he  was  ordered  to  assure 
leiii  of  support,  so  long  as  they  fought  for 
'C.^  He  and  his  o dicers  w^ere  told  to  join 
leir  war-parties ;  while  the  Canadians,  who  lol- 
ed  him  to  Acadia,  were  rerpiired  to  leave  all 
kr  employments  and  wage  incessant  war  against 
e  English  borders.  ^^  You  yourself,"  says  the 
iiister,  "will  herein  set  them  so  good  an  exam- 
le.  that  they  will  be  animated  by  no  other  desire 
m  tliat  of  making  profit  out  of  the  enemy :  there 
nothing  which  I  more  strongl}'  urge  n[)on  you 
an  to  put  forth  all  your  abiliry  and  prudence  to 
ifevent  the  Abenakis  from  occupying  themselves 
any  thing  but  war,  and  by  good  management  of 
e  supplies  which  you  have  received  for  their  use 
enable  them  to  live  by  it  more  to  their  advan- 
ce tlian  by  hunting."  ^ 

'  M^moirp  pour  se.rvir  d' Instruction  "■?  Si'eiir  de  Villphon,  IG'Jl. 
■  'Coinmc  vostre  principal  objut  doit  e.-.'^r"  ile  fairo  la  LTHcrro  sans  re« 
•■it'  iiux  Anglois,  il  i'aut  quo  vostre  plus  inuliculioic  applicutiou  suit 


I 


348 


Till-:    WAK    IN    Al  ADIA. 


[lO'.H 


Annod  wilh  llios(*  insi ructions,  A'illihon 
paii'od  lo  !:;s  [)().si,  wliorc  ho  was  joiiUMl  hy  a  1, 
of  Canndinns  undor  PorhuMif.  His  lii-sl  step  J 
lo  reoccupy  Port  Koyjd  ;  niid,  as  \]\v\v  was  no 
there  to  oppose*  him,  ln'  cnsily  sncctHMlcMl.  TIk 
tiers  riMionnced  alle!»'i;)nee  to  Mas.^acluisclis 
Kinir  William,  and  swore  lidelitv  to  llicir  i);itu| 
sovereign.'     'I'he  eapital  of  Aeadia   dropped  hj 


quiet  1)'  into  the  lap  of  France  ;  but,  as  the  '•  lio 
iiais"  niiirht  re;'ai)ture  it  at.  anv  time,  \'ill'. 
crossed  to  the  kSt,  dohn,  and  built  a  fort  lii-1 
the  stream  at  Naxov.at,  op])osite  the  present  eii 
Frederieton.  Here  no  '•  JJostoiinais"  could  ic 
him,  and  he  could  muster  war-})arties  at  his  leisi 
One  thing  was  indispensable.  A  blow  nuist 
•struck  that  ^vould  encourage  and  excite  the  Ali 
akis.  Some  of  them  had  had  no  part  in  the  li.i] 
and  were  still  so  keen  for  l^nglish  l)lo()d  tli 
deputation  of  their  chiefs  told  Frontenac  at  i}\\ 
that  thev  would  hght,  even  if  they  nnist  lu^ad  ihj 
arrows  with  the  bones  of  beasts.*^ 


rh 


lev  were  lui 


no  such  necessity.     Cuns,  ])owder,  and  lead  v^ 
given  them  in  abundance;  and  Thury,  the  pij 

de  clo((Minior  tlo  tout  autre  employ  Ics  Francois  (ivii  i^ont  avec  vi  :s| 
lour  tlnunant  iW  vostre  part  un  si  bon  exeuiple  en  cela  qu'ils  in' -  J 
aninuz  que  du  dosir  ile  cherdier  k  faire  du  prollit  sur  le.^  eiun.iii> 
n''iv  vi^sy  lieu  a  vous  rei'ommander  plus  Ibrtcuieut  que  de  uni^i 
li^:^,li•e  t^  at  ce  que  vous  pouvez  avoir  de  capacitd  et  de  pruiKiue  aim 
lc*>  Caiiibas  (J/.t»a(-/.s)  ne  s  cniployeiit  qu'ii  la  guerre,  et  que  par  W 
nie  dc  eo  i\\-,o  vous  jive?  h,  leur  fournir  ila  y  piiissetit  trouver  K  lu'^^i 
taii'e  ei  v)!;  ^  I'avaiiiage  qu'a  la  cliass<?."     /.'    Miniaive  a  Vill(ho)i,:i 
.1.6'J;i.     l  \o  years  before,  the  king  liad  ordered  that  tiie  Abenakis  m 
^^  nade  to  attack  th ..•  Kuglish  settli'Uicnfs.  1 

"  J''-'jd!S-!-    'al  de  la  Prhc  dc  Pi)ss< ^sioii  ihi  Pihl  /{pnal,  ?!  6'</./.,  H^ 
*  fiiroles  dts  Saucages  de  la  Missiun  de  Pentegoet. 


CAPTUKF,   OF   YOKK. 


:;iD 


I  soiit  avL'c  viiiij 
cela  (ju'ils  111'  ^  )| 
ur  k'.-  rniKiiiiv 
it  que  ik'  nioltil 
k'  pnuli'iicL'  iiliuj 
■,  ot  quo  par  I't  ( 
:  trouver  Kiu'  ju| 
s//"e  a  Vlllilioii, 
(he  Abcnakb  M 


|tIio  P(Mi()l)S(M)l,  iirn-(Ml    IIkmii    to   slrlkc  ilic   Kiig- 
A  him(lr(Ml  juid  fiily  ol'  Iiis  coiivcrls  look  iho 
[.[Kitli,  nnd  wen*  JoIikmI  hy  n  IkiikI  IVoni  IIk^  Kcii- 


\l 


Ji 


(Hi 


WMs  .lainiMry  ;  and  lucy  made  llicir  way  on 


v-sliocs  aloiiLi'  i]\o  IVo/cn  sli'caiiis,  and  llnoiiijli 
hlciillily  solitudes  of  llio  winter  Forest,  I  ill,  al"l(4' 
liiiiii;  a  nionlli,  lliev  ins'ij'ed  Iheir  destination. 
roiiticM"  s(>ttleinent.  of  Yorl\.  In  tlje  afternoon 
ic  fourth  of  February,  tliey  encaiujxMl  at  (lie 
if  a  lii^u'h  liill,  (evidently  Mount,  A^a  men  liens, 
die   loi)  of   wliieli   IIk;    KnL'lisIi  villa'-c  lav  in 

1  r?  tit' 

It  was  a  ('oll(H'tion  of  seaitered  houses  alon*; 


A 


tanks  ol   the  river  Airanienticus  and  tin;  shoi'c 


n 


1     th 


lie  adjaeent,  sea.     Five  or  more  of    them  were 

for  defence,  though  owned  and  oecu[)ie(I   ])y 

lies  like  the  otlier  lionses.     Near  tlie  sea,  stood 

iiiiprotected  house  of    the   ehief    man    of   the 


1)1 


unnner,  the   minister 


York 


inneju's 


PI 


to 


r  contained  from  three  to  four  hundred  j)er- 
<{){  all  ages,  for  the  most  part  rude  and  ignorant 
lorors. 

IlluMvarriors  lay  sliivering  all  night  in  the  foi'est, 
(lining  to  make  fires.     In  the  morning,  a  heavy 


01  snow  neiran 


1) 


11j 


d    f 


ley  moved    loJ'waid,   an 


1, 


d 


hear 


d  the 


soun( 


lof 


an  axe. 


It 


was  ;ni 


KuLi'lisli 


•hopping  wood.  They  caught  him,  extoj-ted 
|tli  information  as  they  ne(;ded,  then  tomahawked 

and  moved  on,  till,  hidden  by  the  forest  and 
*lil('k  snow,  they  reached  the  outskirts  of  the 
ge.  Here  they  divided  into  two  parties,  and  each 


(,//«/,  ?7:5'<y./.,i»  its  station. 


A  gun  was  fired  as  a  signal,  upon 


iieli  they  all  yelled  the  war-wdioop,  and  dashed 


:;r)0 


TIIK    WAll    IN    ACADIA. 


upon  i]\v'\v  pn\v.      (>!](»  pjirlv  m.-islcicd  \]\r  i)( 
forlilird  Iioiisi*.  winch    liiid    scMrcrlv  n  (Iclciid 


(  r 


WOUUMl 


Til 


\o    vvsi     hiirsi      idIo    ilic    impioU 
ln>us(»s.  killing;'  or  c.'ipl  nriniv  \\\o  Mslonisli(Ml  inm 
Vhv  ininis((M*  WMs  nj  Ids  door,  ii;  IIk^mcI  oI  inomj 
his  hors(*  (o  vlsll  sonu*  dislnnl  pnrisliioinM-s.  \\\\\ 
hidh^l  slnnds  hiind(Md.      1  l«MVMf<  ji  ^TMihinlc  of 
\nrd  (\)ll(\j;'(\  M  in;ni  iidxiniciMl  in  hiV.  of  some  h 
in*:,'.  Mnd  jj:,r(\Mllv  r(^sp(Md(Ml.      Tlic    b'l'tMich   wen)} 
^iw  thjil  nhoni  m  hnndrcnl  luMsons.  inchidiuL'' woi 
;\nd   (dnlih'rn.  wiMi^   IvilhMl.   nnd    Mhout  ('ii;iil\ 
iniH^I.      Thosj^    \vho    conld,    rnn     for    lh(*    f;»ri; 


I 


U)US(*S     ( 


>f    !\'id)lo.    Ilnrnion.    Alcock.    mid    \ 


OI 


wiiitdi    \>  oro    soon    Idlod    uilh    lh(*    r(d"n!.i,'o('s. 
Indinr.s   did    not    Mltnclv    IhiMn,    hnl     kepi    well 


>f 


o\    iinn 


-AiM 


an( 


1    1 


>nsi(M 


1    11 


1(MUSIM\(\S     ni     plll.l 


killin«^"  hojsos  and  onltio,  and  hnrninLi:  llu'  m 
IcH'tml  houses.  Th^'V  thou  dividod  tluMustd\(>s 
small   bands,  aud   dostrovod   all   tho  outlvinu'  f; 


for  f 


our  or  llvo  uiilos  arouui 


d 


Tho  wisii  of  Kiuir   Louis  was  fuliillod.     A 
prolit    had    boon    uiado   out    of    tho   ou(Mn\. 
viot(^rs  \vithdrow  into  tho  I'orost  with  thoir  pliin 
and  tlioir  prisoners,  auuuii;'  whom  wore  sevornl 
women  and  a  nuud)er  of  ehildren  from  tir.v 
seven  vears  old.     These,  with  a  forbearauoo  w 
loes  tliem  orodit,  tbiov  permitted   to   return  in 
jurod  to  the  nearest  fortified  house,  in  roipiitaj 
is  said,  for  the  lives  of  a  number  of  Indian  child 
spared  bv  the   English  in  a  recent  attack  on 
Androscoij:<j:in.      The    wife    of    the    minister 
allowed  to  <ro  with  them  ;  but  her  son  remaiiu^ 


Vn,r,K,MON    AND  TIIF,    AHENAKIR. 


nrA 


<mI  I1|(>  |),.f 

H  «l('lrii(l(  r 

i>     mi|)r()|(; 

iisli(>(I  iiMii] 

I'l  ol  inoiiii 

ionci's.  w  I): 

:h1ii;iI('  of 

ol  some    0 

(Midi   ;i('('() 

'liK  iiiL''  wo 

1  ^ 

III     (Mli'  ll  \ 

\Uv  foiii 

.   imd    Nop 

k(*pl    wcl 

S     ill     |)i  \;\:f 

uiX  (  n'  iiir 

luMiisclvi'; : 

()u(l\iii''-  f;i 

illotl     A  .1* 

llU'l'.   MIM 


1     i) 


l<" 


{I  on 


ni/cMJ    iiiollici'  wnil    b.'ick    (o 


l;iii    ('jniij)    lo   Imm!:    I(ii-  I 


IIS    t'rh'MM( 


Tl 


WIH'M     srM 


}| 


|K«iinill(Ml  li(>f  h>  rol  iini ;  Iml 
,1  scm'oimI  linir,  llicy  lold  Imt  IIi.iI,  ji^  sIk^ 
(I  l(»  lie  i\  |)ris()n('r,  slic  slidiild  li!ivr  \\rv  wish. 
|i\,is  ('{irricd  willi  IIk*  r<'sl  lo  llicir  viliiii;*  ,  vvlMM'e 
I  (!!<><!  of   <»xli;iiislion  .'in<l   'lisfrcss.     Onr  (/f 

I"    II 
to  (1 


ull) 


riors    .Mrrii>(Ml  liiiiisc 


If 


in 


II 


|(>    L''(»\VM   () 


iinisl(»r,  jiimI    |>r('ji('lirM  a  iiiork  scnuoii 
live  |)!iri,diion(»rs  ' 


1(1 


10 


villi;'   ^  oris    in   sislics,  llic  vH'lors   hc^rjin    flicir 
iii('\vin'(l  •   wliilo  ;i,  IxkIv  of  men  Uawi  l*or'ts- 


lO 


lo 


I1o\v(m1  on  llicir  (inil,  hut  soon  lost  it,  ;iih1 
!  to  oxcrl.'ikc  llicni.  TIkm'c  wiis  a  scnson  of 
hl;"  .'ind  S('idj)-djm('in;;'  .H  llic  Abcrjiiki  towns; 
licii,  MS  sprinjj;  opened,  n  Inindi'cd  of  the  w.'ir- 
scl  ont  to  visit  X'illchon,  tell  liim  of  tlieir 
i]'li,;ind  rcM'oivc^  tlie  promised   ^ifts  from  tlieir 


Ml  her 


tll(^    In 


inii' 


\'ilIel)on  Jind   liis  hrotliers, 


iif,  NenvilUMto,  jind  l)es?les,  willi  their  (/Jitim/ 


iiMowers, 


lind 


>pe 


n 


t  tl 


le  wintei*  eliK 


lly 


on  ln(. 


til 


lin,  llnisliing  tlieir  fort  jit  Naxoiuit,  Jind  pre- 
fer fntnro  operations.     The  A})enaki  visitors 

'  Ih'sI  Front'h  iiccomit  of  the  cMptiin'  ftf  York  is  that  of  Cliiitn- 
:n  ;i  Ictlcr   to  tlic  miiii>tfr,  T)  Oct.,  I'i'.rJ.      His  inform.'itioii  caiiio 
Alu'iiaki  cliii'f,  who  was  prcst'iit.     'I'iic  journal  of  Vilhlxm  voW' 
Tativl   ai'coiint    ol"  llii    alTair,  also   derived    from   IiidiaiiH. 
arc  tlic  I'jijrlish  accounts  in  Mather,  WilliatnHon,  Jind  Niles.     'riiese 
kc  the  number  of  slain  and  captives  much  lesH  than  that  j^iven 
Irciii'li.     In   the  conteniporar}'  journal  of   Kiv.  John  I'ike,  il  i8 
:itls  killed  and  7:5  taken. 

ifortitied  houses  of  this  period  are  still   (187'))  standinj?  at  York. 

[are  8id)8tantiiil  buihlinj^s  of  square<l  timlier,  with  tiie  upper  story 

^ing  over  the  lower,  so  as  to  allow  a  vertical  fire  on  the  heads  ol 

ints.     Ill  fine  of  them  some  of  the  h)opholes  for  musketry  are  still 

lojien.    TIk'v  may  or   may  not   have  been  originally  enclosed   by 


liii 


Ian  o\;u 


imii 


352 


TIIK    WAIl   IN   ACADIA. 


iCCP 


arrived  lowjirds  flioond  of  April,  and  \V(M'('  i 
Avilli  ;dl  possible  disiinelioii.  'I'Ikm'o  were  spc;  [J 
gifts,  jiud  fc^MslinL!,' ;  for  llicy  had  doiu*  nnidi 
Avcrc  expcM'ied  to  do  m.)re.  Poi'liuMif  saii-j  ,1 
80ng  in  iluMr  lanL;Mia<;-o  ;  (Ikmi  he  o[)eii('(l  a  Ii;ii 
of  wine:  (he  L!;ncvsls  cnipiiiMl  i(  in  h»ss  Ihaii  ii 
mlnnles,  sani;*,  whooped,  danced,  and  pi-oiiii-cill 
repair  to  (he  ren(U^zvons  a(  Sain(-(^aslin's  slat 
lVnli\ii;()ei.^  A  grand  war-pariv  was  afool  ;  ;inj 
new  and  willierinL»'  l)low  was  io  he  struck  ;iu 
the  Kn^Lilisli  IioihKm*.  '!1ie  i;-n(^sls  set  out  for  l\ 
goet,  followed   hv  PortncMif,  Desiles,  L;i  Jhoniioi 


severa 


1    oth 


illi 


d    1 


ler  onicers,  juki    iweniv   Lanadiaii^ 


tv   C 


few  days  after,  a  large  hand  of  Micinacs  anivi 
then  came  the  Mallcite  warriors  from  their  villi 
of  ^ledoclec  ;  and  a(  last  Father  l>audoin  a|»|)(  ;ii 
leadinu:  another  band  of  ^licniacs  from  his  m 
of  ]>"aubassin.  Si)eeches,  feasts,  and  gifts  w| 
made   to  them  all;  and   thev  all   followed  tin 


to  tl 


le  apnoni 


ppc 


[ted 


d 


renue/vous. 


At  the  beginning  of  June,  the  site  of  tlio  i 
of    Castinc   was   covered  with   Avi!>wams   and 
beach  lined  with  canoes.     Malecites  and  ^licmi 
Abenakis  from  the  Penobscot  and  Abenakis  li 
the  Kennebec,  were  here,  some  four  hundri'd  w 
riors  in  all.'"'     Here,  too,   were   Portneuf  mn! 
Canadians,  the  Baron  de  8aint-Castin  and  h\<  111 
father-in-law%  ^ladockawando,  with  Moxus,  K_t 
met,  and  other  noted  chiefs,  the  terror  of  the  E 
lish  borders.     Thev  crossed    Penobscot   .l>av 


mar 


died 


n 


pon 


the  frontier  villaixe  of  AVell? 


'  Villebon,  Journal 


qui  $'■  sf  passd  a  I'Acadie   IGOl,  100:2 


2  Frontenac  au  Minis        lo  Scjit.,  1G92. 


ATTACK  ON    WELLS. 


353 


(1  WVVV  1">'CC 


h\Vlls,  like  York,  was  a  sinall  soillenu^nl  of  scal- 
[ri'd  liousos  al()ii<i;  (Ik^   sc^i-slioro.     Tlie   yciir  Ixv 

'.  Moxiis  had  vainly  attacked  it,  witli  two 
[iiilrcd   warriors.      All    tlic^    lU'i^hhorin*^   country 

hccn  laid  wjistci  hy  a  ninrdci'ous  war  of  detail, 

lonely  farm-houses  ])illa;j;ed  and  l)urned,an(l  the 
kivois  (h'iven  hark  for  refu^'(»  to  ihe  older  sottlo- 
bts.'  Wells  had  heen  crowded  with  these  refe- 
rs; hut  famine  and  misery  had  (hivc^ii  most  of 
111  heyond  the  Piscatacjua,  and  the  place  \\as 
[woccupied  hy  a.  remnant  of  its  own  destitute 
iiibitants,  who,  warned  hy  the  hite  of  York,  had 
^eu  refuse  in  live  Jortilied  houses.  The  lar<^est 
|tliese,  helon«j^ing  to  Joseph  Storcr,  was  surrounded 
;a  [)idisade,  and  occupied  by  fifteen  armed  men, 
|(lir  Captain  Convers,  an  ollicer  of  militia.  On 
mini h  of  June,  two  sloops  and  a  sail-boat  ran  up 

ncMghboring  creek,  bringing  supplies  and  four- 
b  more  men.  Tlic  succor  came  in  the  nick  of 
ue.  The  sloops  had  scarcely  anchored,  when  a 
mbcT  of  cattle  were  seen  rinniing  frightened  and 
kiiuled  from  the  woods.  It  was  plain  that  an 
(eiiiy  was  lurking  there.  All  the  families  of  the 
p  now  gathered  within  the  palisades  of  Storer's 
pe,  thus  increasing  his  force  to  about  thirty 
f!i;  and  a  close  watch  was  kept  throughout  the 

In  the  morning,  no  room  was  left  for  doubt. 
keJohn  Diamond,  on  his  way  from  the  house  to 

iTlie  raviif^es  committed  by  the  Abenakis  in  the  precodinj^  year 
pg  the  scattered  farms  of  Maine  and  Now  IIami)sbire  are  said  by 
BKiiac  to  have  been  "  impossible  to  describe."  Auotlier  Freacli 
pr  says  that  they  burned  more  than  200  houses. 

23 


354 


TIIF   WAR  IN   ArADTA. 


[U 


the  sloops,  was  scizefl  by  Tiidians  and  dracri:rrMl 
by  the  bjilr.     Tbcn  tlie  wliole  ])0(ly  of  savn<r('s 
peared  swarming  over  the   fields,  so  coiifi(l(Mit 
Riiccess  that  they  neglected   tbeir  usual   tucticsj 
surprise.    A  Frencb  ofTicer,  wbo,  as  an  old  T.wAi 
account   says,   was  "  bablted    like   a   genlloiiiui 
made   tbeni  an   barangue  :  tbey  answcM'cul  witl 
bnrst  of  yells,  and  tben  attacked  Ibe  bouse,  lliii 
screecbing,  and  calling  on  CVmvers  and  bis  hk'uI 
surrender.     Otbers  gave  tbeir  attention  to  flic  tl 
sloops,  wbicb  lay  together  in   tbe   narrow  rroi 
stranded  by  tbe  ebbing  tide.     Tbey  fired  at  tli| 
for  a  wbile  from  bebind   a  pile  of  planks  on 
sbore,  and  tbrew  many  fire-arrows  without  siiccc 
the  men  on  board  fighting  with  such  cool  and  (li 
terous  obstinacy  that  they  held  them  all  at  1)| 
and  lost  but  one  of  tbeir  own  number.     N(^xt. 
Canadians  made  a   huge   shield   of  planks,  wli 
they  fastened  vertically  to  the  back  of  a  cart. 
Brognerie  with  twenty-six   men,  French  and 
dians,  got  bebmd  it,  and  shoved  the  cart  tow; 
the  stranded  sloops.     It  was  within  fifty  foci 
them,  when  a  wheel  sunk  in  the  mnd,  and  the 
chine  stnck  fast.     La  Brognerie  tried  to  lift 
wheel,  and  Avas  shot  dead.    The  tide  began  to 
A  Canadian  tried  to  escape,  and  was  also  si 
The  rest  then  broke  away  together,  some  of  tin 
as  they  ran,   dropping  under  the  bullets  of 
sailors. 

Tbe  whole  force  now  gathered  for  a  final  atl 
on  the  garrison  house.  Their  appearance  ^v;l 
frightful,  and  their  clamor  so  appalling,  that 


FRENCH  REPULSE. 


355 


I  flic  English  mnttorecl  something  about  surron- 
k  Convors  returned,  ^'  If  you  say  that  again, 
Ivjiirc  a  (lead  mnn."  ILul  the  allies  made  a  bold 
lit,  he  and  his  followers  must  liave  been  over- 
kered  ;  but  this  mode  of  attack  was  contrary  to 
li;in  maxims.  They  merely  leaped,  yelled,  iired, 
ji]  cjilled  on  the  English  to  yiehl.  They  "were 
Uciod  with  derision.  The  women  in  ihe  house 
[)k  part  in  the  defence,  passed  annnuultion  to  the 
til,  ;md  sometimes  fired  themselves  on  the  eue- 
.  The  Indians  at  lem2:th  becamo  disco urai2:ed, 
i  offered  Convers  favorable  terms.  He  jinswered, 
want  nothing  but  men  to  fight  with."  An 
^enaki  who  spoke  English  cried  out :  *'  If  you 
<o  bold,  why  do  you  stay  in  a  garrison  house 
?n  squaw  ?  Come  out  and  fight  like  a  man  !  " 
Invors  retorted,  "  Do  vou  think  I  am  fool  enou2:h 
Icome  out  with  thirty  men  to  fight  five  hundred  ?  " 
ptlior  Indian  shouted,  ^'Damn  you,  we'll  cut  you 
as  tobacco  before  morning."  Convers  re- 
:iiofl  a  contemptuous  defiance. 
[After  a  while,  they  ceased  firing,  and  dispersed 
out  the  neif*:hborhood,  butcherino;  cattle  and  burn- 
the  church  and  a  few  empty  houses.  As  the 
3  began  to  ebb,  they  sent  a  fire-raft  in  full  blaze 
m  the  creek  to  destroy  the  sloops ;  but  it 
mded,  and  the  attempt  failed.  They  now^ 
eaked  their  fury  on  the  prisoner  Diamond,  whom 
h  tortured  to  death,  after  which  they  all  disap- 
ped.  A  few  resolute  men  had  foiled  one  of  the 
pt  formidable  bands  that  ever  took  the  war-path 
llcadia.* 

IVillobon,  Journal  de  ce  qui  s'est  pnss^h  VAcndie.  1601, 1602;  Mather, 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


no 


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tt    1^    * 


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Hiotographic 

Sdences 
Corporation 


i\ 


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•SJ 


i 


\ 


>^ 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  873-4503 


'% 


VV^< 


C/. 


¥ 


\ 


\ 


6^ 


356 


THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA. 


[IGS 


n- 


TLe  warriors  dispersed  to  their  respective  haunts 
and,  when  a  band  of  them  reached  the  St.  Join 
Villebon  coolly  declares  that  he  gave  them  a  prij 
oner  to  burn.  They  put  him  to  death  with  all  tliei| 
ingenuity  of  torture.  The  act,  on  the  part  of  th 
governor,  was  more  atrocious,  as  it  had  no  motii 
of  reprisal,  and  as  the  burning  of  prisoners  was  ii( 
the  common  practice  of  these  tribes.* 

The  warlike  ardor  of  the  Abenakis  cooled  aft( 
the  failure  at  Wells,  and  events  that  soon  followi 
nearly  extinguished  it.     Phips  had  just  rcceivt 
his  preposterous  appointment  to  the  government 
Massachusetts.     To  the  disgust  of  its  inhabitant 
the  stubborn  colony  was  no  longer  a  republic.  Tl 
new  governor,  unfit  as  he  was  for  his  office,  undej 
stood  the  needs  of  the  eastern  frontier,  where 
had  spent  his  youth ;  and  he  brought  a  royal  orde 

Mnrjnalia,  II.  613;  Hutchinson,  Hist.  Mass.,  IT.  67;  Williamson,  //I'sfa 
of  Maine,  I.  631 ;  Bourne,  History  of  Wells,  2i3 ;  Niles,  Indian  ami  Fren 
Wars,  229.     Williamson,  like  Sylvanus  Davis,  calls  Portneuf  iBimrJ 
or  Rvmiffe.     He,  and  other  English  writers,  call  La  Brognerie  Lnhor. 
The  French  could  not  recover  his  body,  on  which,  according  to  ^'iles  i 
others,  was  found  a  pouch  "  stuffed  full  of  relics,  pardons,  and  inJij 
gcnces."    The  prisoner  Diamond  told  the  captors  that  there  weie  tliiij 
men  in  the  sloops.     They  believed  him,  and  were  cautious  according 
There  were,  in  fact,  but  fourteen.   Most  of  the  fighting  was  on  tlie  tenj 
On  the  evening  of  that  day,  Convers  received  a  rcinforccnioiu  of 
men.    They  were  a  scouting  party,  whom  he  had  sent  a  few  days 
fore  in  the  direction  of  Salmon  River.     Returning,  they  were  att:uk^ 
when  near  the  garrison  house,  by  a  party  of  Portneufs  Indians.   T 
sergeant  in  command  instantly  shouted,  "  Captain  Convers,  send  yd 
men  round  the  hill,  and  we  shall  catch  these  dogs."   Thinking  that  C<] 
vers  had  made  a  sortie,  the  Indians  ran  off,  and  the  scouts  joioed 
garrison  without  loss. 

1  "Le  18"«  (Aout)  un  sauvage  anglois  fut  pris  au  bas  de  la  riviM 
St.  Jean.   Je  le  donnai  It  nos  sauvages  pour  estre  bruM,  ce  qu'ils  fircnj 
lendemain.     On  ne  pent  rien  adjouter  aux  tourmens  qu'ils  luy 
■ouffrir."    Villebon,  Journal,  1G91,  1692. 


iiog 


m 


JOIIN   NELSON. 


357 


)ectlve  haunts 

the  St.  Join 

^e  them  a  prii 

h  wit'a  all  tliei 

,he  part  o!  tl 

had  no  motii 

isoners  was  ii( 
1 

as  cooled  aft< 
^t  soon  follow! 
d  just  receiv( 
5  crovernment 
its  inhabitant 
a  republic.  Tl 
lis  office,  iindej 
mtier,  where 
;ht  a  royal  orde 

7 ;  Williamson,  Histt 
ilea,  Indian  and  Fret 
jails  Portneuf  B'tm^ 
La  Brognerie  Lnhor 
according  to  Miles 
8,  pardons,  aiul  inJJ 
that  there  weie  tliir 
|e  cautious  acc-onl'mi 
[hting  was  on  the  lenj 

rcinforccnuMU  of 
d  sent  a  few  <lay9 
iig,  they  were  altackj 
rtneufs  Indians.  T 
,in  Convers,  Bcnil  y( 
."  Thinking  tliat  C^ 
the  scouts  joined 

au  bas  de  la  rivibre 
Ibrul^,  ce  qu'ils  firejij 
Irmens  qu'ils  luy* 


L  rebuild  the  ruined  fort  at  Pemaqiiid.     The  king 
kve  the  order,  but  neither  men,  money,  nor  mu- 
Isitions  to  execute  it ;  and  Massachusetts  bore  all 
|iiie  burden.    Phips  went  to  Pemaquid,  laid  out  the 
lork,  and   left  a  hundred  men  to  finish  it.     A 
rong  fort  of  stone  was  built,  the  abandoned  can- 
non of  Casco  mounted  on  its  walls,  and  sixty  men 
placed  in  garrison. 

The  keen  military  eye  of  Frontenac  saw  the 
iger  involved  in  the  re-establishment  of  Pema- 
liiid.  Lying  far  in  advance  of  the  other  English 
aliens,  it  barred  the  passage  of  war-parties  along 
lie  coast,  and  was  a  standing  menace  to  the  Abe- 
dkis.  It  was  resolved  to  capture  it.  Tw^o  ships 
(war,  lately  arrived  at  Quebec,  the  "  Poli  "  and  the 
[Envieux,"  were  ordered  to  sail  for  Acadia  with 
Dve  four  hundred  men,  take  on  board  two  or 
be  hundred  Indians  at  Pentegoet,  reduce  Pema- 
nid,  and  attack  Wells,  Portsmouth,  and  the  Isles 
Shoals;  after  which,  they  were  to  scour  the 
Mian  seas  of  "  Bostonnais  "  fishermen. 
At  this  time,  a  gentleman  of  Boston,  John  Nel- 
k  captured  by  Villebon  the  year  before,  was  a 
pioner  at  Quebec.  Nelson  was  nephew  and  heir 
Sir  Thomas  Temple,  in  whose  right  he  claimed 
le  proprietorship  of  Acadia,  under  an  old  grant 
Oliver  Cromwell.  He  was  familiar  both  with 
at  country  and  with  Canada,  which  he  had  vis- 
several  times  before  the  war.  As  he  was  a 
in  of  birth  and  breeding,  and  a  declared  enemy 
Phips,  and  as  he  had  befriended  French  pris- 
ef|S,  and  shown  especial  kindness  to  Meneval,  the 


358 


THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA. 


captive  governor  of  Acadia,  he  was  treated  \vi| 
distinction  by  Frontenac,  who,  though  he  kiK 
him  to  be  a  determined  enemy  of   the  Freiicj 
lodged  him  at  the  chateau,  and  entertained  Lim 
his  own  table.*     Madockawando,  the  father-ln-h 
of  Saint-Castin,  made  a  visit  to  Frontenac;  m 
Nelson,  who  spoke  both  French  and  Indian,  co| 
t rived  to  gain  from  him  and  from  other  soiiices 
partial  knowledge  of  the  intended  expedition. 
was  not  in  favor  at  Boston ;  for,  though  one  of 
foremost  in  the  overthrow  of  Andros,  his  creed  ui| 
his  character  savored  more  of  the  Cavalier  thuu 
the  Puritan.     This  did  not  prevent  him  from  ris 
ing  his  life  for  the  colony.     He  w^rote  a  letter 
the  authorities  of  Massachusetts,  and  then  brib 
two  soldiers  to  desert  and  carry  it  to  them. 
deserters  were  hotly  pursued,  but  reached  tW 
destination,  and  delivered  their  letter.     The  ti 
ships  sailed  from  Quebec ;  but  when,  after  a  loij 
delay  at  Mount  Desert,  they  took  on  board  the 
dian  allies  and  sailed  onward  to  Pemaquid,  th 
found  an  armed  ship  from  Boston  anchored  in  I 
harbor.    Why  they  did  not  attack  it,  is  a  Tn}>;te( 
The  defences  of  Pemaquid  were  still  unfnii.sL 
the  French  force  was  far  superior  to  the  Engli^ 
and  Iberville,  who  commanded  it,  was  a  leader 
unquestionable  enterprise  and  daring.     Nevertt 
less,  the  French  did  nothing,  and  soon  after  U 
away  for  France.     Frontenac  was  indignant,  i^ 
severely   blamed   Iberville,   whose   sister  wa^ 


1  Champigny  an  Ministre.  4  Nov.   1698. 


ENGLISH  PLOT. 


359 


1(1  his  ship,  and  was  possibly  tlio  occasion  of 

iuaction.' 

I  Thus  far  successful,  the  authorities  of  Boston 
^ijei  took  an  enterprise  little  to  their  credit.  They 
nployed  the  two  deserters,  joined  with  two  Aca- 
iii  prisoners,  to  kidnap  Saint-Castin,  whom,  next 

the  priest  Thury,  they  regarded  as  their  most 
billions  enemy.  The  Acadians  revealed  the  plot, 
ill  the  two  soldiers  were  shot  at  Mount  Desert. 

|jon  was  sent  to  France,  imprisoned  two  years 
I  a  dungeon  of  the  Chateau  of  Angouleme,  and 
k  placed  in  the  Bastile.  Ten  years  passed 
[tore  he  was  allowed   to   return  to  his  family  at 

The  French  failure  at  Pemaquid  completed  the 
piitent  of  the  Abenakis ;  and  despondency  and 

l' Frontemic  au  Ministre,  25  Oct.,  1G93. 

I'  Lagiiy,  Me'moire  sur  rAcaclie,  1092  ;  Menioie  sur  VEnlecemeul  de  Saint- 
iin;  Froiitenac  an  Mhuslre,  25  Oct.,  1693;  IMation  de  re  qui  .s'e.st  passi 

If/iis  nmarquahle,  1090,  1G91  (capture   of  Nelson)  ;  Frontenac  au  Min- 

]f,  15  <S'f/J^,  1692 ;  C/uiwpn/ni/  au  Ministre,  15  Oc/.,  1692.  Cluunpigny 
i?pe;iks  of  Nelson  as  tlie  most  audacious  of  the  English,  and  the  most 
!erniiiied  on  the  destruction  of  the  French.  Nelson's  letter  to  the 
ioritit'S  of  Boston  is  printed  in  Hutchinson,  I.  088.  It  does  not  warn 
of  an  attempt  against  Pemaquid,  of  tlie  rehuilding  of  which  he 

|niis  not  to  have  heard,  but  only  of  a  design  against  the  seaboard  towns. 
iipare  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  555.  In  the  same  collection  is  a  Mc- 
ml  on  the  Northern  Colonies,  by  Nelson,  a  pajicr  showing  much  good 
Sfeand  penetration.     After  an  imprisonment  of  four  and  a  half  years, 

|sas allowed  to  go  to  England  on  parole;  a  friend  in  France  giving 

pity  of  15,000  livres  for  his  return,  in  case  of  his  failure  to  procure 
I  the  king  an  order  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  terms  of  the  capitulation 

|Purt  Royal.  {Le  Ministre  a  Be't/on,  13  ,/an.,  1694.)  He  did  not  succeed, 
itiieking  forbade  him  to  return.  It  is  characteristic  of  him  that  he 
Iflerred  to  disobey  the  royal  order,  and  thus  incur  the  high  displeasure 
[his  sovereign,  rather  than  break  his  parole  and  involve  his  friend  in 
!•  La  Ilontan  calls  him  a  "fort  galant  honnne."  There  is  a  portrait 
Mm  at  Boston,  wliere  his  descendants  are  represented  by  the  prom- 
nt  families  of  Winthrop,  Derby,  and  Borland. 


360 


THE    WAR  IN  ACADIA. 


lU 


■j-:' 


terror  seized  them  when,  in  the  spring  of  1G| 
Con  vers,  the  defender  of  Wells,  ranged  the  fn 
tier  with  a  strong  party  of  militia,  and  built  anotl 
stone  fort  at  the  falls  of  the  Saco.     In  July,  tlj 
opened  a  conference  at  Pemaquid ;  and,  in  Au_o-i 
thirteen  of  their  chiefs,  representing,  or  preteiidii 
to  represent,  all  the  tribes  from  the  Merriniac 
the  St.  Croix,  came  again  to  the  same  place  to  c( 
elude  a  final  treaty  of  peace  with  the  cominissioiK 
of    Massachusetts.      They  renounced    the  Freiij 
alliance,  buried  the  hatchet,  declared  tliemseb 
British  subjects,  promised  to  give  up  all  prisonej 
and  left  five  of  their  chief  men  as  hostages.' 
frontier  breathed  again.     Security  and  hope 
turned  to  secluded  dwellings  buried  in  a  treachj 
ous  forest,  where  life  had   been  a  nightmare 
horror  and  fear;  and  the  settler  could  go  to 
work  without  dreading  to  find  at  evening  his  cal 
burned  and  his  wife  and  children  murdered. 
was  fatally  deceived,  for  the  danger  was  not  p.i 

It  is  true  that  some  of  the  Abenakis  were 
cere  in  their  pledges  of  peace.     A  party  amc 
them,  headed  by  Madockawando,  wxre  dissatisfil 
with  the  French,  anxious  to  recover  their  capt^ 
countrymen,  and  eager  to  reopen  trade  with 
English.     But  there  was  an  opposing  party, 
by  the  chief  Taxous,  who  still  breathed  war ;  v,\i 
between  the  two  was  an  unstable  mob  of  warri 
guided  by  the  impulse  of  the  hour.^    The  Frer 

1  For  the  treaty  in  full,  Matlier,  Magnalia,  II.  625. 

*  The  state  of  feeling  among  the  Abenakis  is  shown  in  a  lette 
Thury  to  Frontenac,  11  Sept.,  1694,  and  in  the  journal  of  Villebonj 
1693. 


tl 


VILLIEU. 


361 


r.^     The  Frei 


gred  no  efforts  to  break  off  the  peace.  The  two 
lLv«ioiiaries,  Bigot  on  the  Kennebec  and  Thury  on 

Penobscot,  labored  with  unwearied  energy  to 
ke  tlie  savages  to  war.  The  governor,  Villebon, 
Ittcred  them,  feasted  them,  adopted  Taxous  as 
k  brother,  and,  to  honor  the  occasion,  gave  him 
y  own  best  coat.     Twenty-five  hundred  pounds 

nmpowder,  six  thousand  pounds  of  lead,  and  a 
ititude  of  other  presents,  were  given  tliis  year 
Itlie  Indians  of  Acadia.^  Two  of  their  chiefs  had 
en  sent  to  Versailles.  They  now  returned,  in 
IV  attire,  their  necks  hung  with  medals,  and  their 
jinds  filled  with  admiration,  wonder,  and  bewilder- 


ml 


Indi 


had 


lie  special  duty  of   commanding  Indians 

n  to  the  lot  of  an  officer  named  Villieu,  who 

been  ordered  by  the  court  to  raise  a  war- 

rty  and  attack  the  English.     He  had  lately  been 

Dt  to  replace  Portneuf,  who  had  been  charged 

|ith  debauchery  and  peculation.  Villebon,  angry  at 

ibrother's  removal,  was  on  ill  terms  with  his  suc- 

«?or;  and,  though  he  declares  that  he  did  his  best 

I  in  raising  the  war-party,  Villieu  says,  on  the 

btrary,  that  he  was  worse  than  indifferent.     The 

jew  lieutenant  spent  the  winter  at  Naxouat,  and 

the  first  of  May  went  up  in  a  canoe  to  the  JNIali- 

village  of  Medoctec,  assembled  the  chiefs,  and 

knted  them  to  war.     They  accepted  the  invitation 

[ith  alacrity.     Villieu  next  made  his  way  through 

lie  wilderness  to  the  Indian  towns  of  the  Penobscot. 

the  ninth,  he  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Matta- 

'  Estnt  de  Munitions,  etc.,  pour  les  Sauvages  de  I'Acadie,  1693. 


■!"■■■■  .:r 

i     v 

i 

!■: 

i 

I 

( 
1 

302 


THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA. 


11 


wamkcag,  where  he  found  the  chief  Taxous,  n 
died  with  him  down  the  Penobscot,  and,  at  inidni 
on  the  tenth,  hmded  at  a  hirge  Indian  villa <'v 
or  near  the  phice  now  called  Pa.s.sadiinikeag.     H 
he  found   a  powerful  ally  in  the  Jesuil  Vine 
Bigot,   who   had    come  from  the   Kennobec,  w 
three  Abenakls,  to  m-ge  their  brethren  of  the  1 
ob.scot  to  break  off  the  peace.     The  chief  en 
denounced  the  treaty  of  Pemaquid  as  a  siiiire ; 
Villieu  exhorted  the  assendjled  warriors  to  follj 
him  to  the  English  border,  where  honor  and  pn 
awaited   them.     But  first  he  invited  them  to 
back  with  him  to  Naxouat  to  receive  their  pre.^ 
of  arms,  ammunition,  and  every  thing  else 
they  needed. 

They  set  out  with  alacrity.  Villieu  went  with  tli 
and  they  all  arrived  within  a  week.     They  wj 
feasted  and  gifted  to  their  hearts'  content ; 
then  the  indefatigable  officer  led  them  back  by 
same  long  and  weary  routes  which  he  had  pa 
and  repassed  before,  rocky  and    shallow  8tie; 
chains  of  wilderness  lakes,  threads  of  water  wr 
ing    through    swamps   where    the    canoes    c 
scarcely  glide  among  the  water-weeds  and  aid 
Villieu  was  the  only  white  man.     The  govei 
as  he  says,  would  give  him  but  two  soldiers. 
these   had    run    off.      Early  in    June,  the  av 
flotilla  paddled  down  the  Penobscot  to  Penteg 
Here  the    Indians  divided    their    presents,  u 
they  found  somewhat  less  ample  than  they 
imagined.     In  the  midst  of  their  discontent, 
dockawando  came  from  Pemaquid  with  news 


THE  ABENAKIS   HESITATE. 


3G3 


(Tovenior  of  Mussachusctts  was  about  to  deliver 
I  the  Indian  prisoners  in  his  hands,  as  stipuhited 
the    treaty.      This    coinplutely    ehanged    the 
aper  of  the  warriors.     Madockawando  declared 
Eilly  for    peace,   and    Villieii    saw  all   his  hopes 
licked.     He  tried  to  persuade  his  disaffected  idlies 
\i  the  English  only  meant  to  lure  them   to  de- 
'iction,    and    the    missionary   Thury   supported 
iwith  his  utmost  eloquence.     The  Indians  would 
I  be  convinced  ;  and  their  trust  in  English  good 
111  was  confirmed,  when  they  heard  that  a  min- 
|r  had  just  come   to  Pemaquid  to  teach  their 
tiJreii  to  read  and  write.     The  news  grew  worse 
worse.     ViUieu   was   secretly   informed    that 
[ps  had  been  off  the  coast  in  a  frigate,  invited 
iockawando    and    other   chiefs   on   board,  and 
|jti'd  them  in  his  cabin,  after  which  they  had  all 
own  their  hatchets  into  the  sea,  in  token  of 
blasting  peace.     Yillieu  now  despaired  of   his 
[erprlse,  and  prepared  to  return  to  the  St.  John  ; 
en  Thury,  wise  as  the  serpent,  set  himself  to  work 
like  jealousy  of  Taxoiis,  took  him   aside,  and 
fsiiaded  him  that  his  rival,  Madockawando,  had 
a  slight  upon  him  in  presuming  to  make  peace 
but  his  consent.     '•  The  effect  was  marvellous," 
\i  Villieu.     Taxons,  exasperated,  declared  that 
Iwould  have  nothing  to  do  with  Madockawando's 
aty.    The   fickle  multitude  caught  the  conta- 
in, and  asked  for  nothing  but  English  scalps ; 
I  before  setting  out,  they  must  needs  go  back  to 
sadumkeag  to  finish  their  preparations. 
illieu  again  went  with  them,  and  on  the  way  his 


864 


THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA. 


(U 


enterprise  and  he  nearly  perished  together, 
canoe  overset  in  a  rnpid  at  some  distance  ah 
the  site  of  Bangor  :  he  was  swept  down  the  ciuri' 
his  head  was  dashed  against  a  rock,  and  his  bo 
bruised  from  head  to  foot.     For  live  days  Ir.  | 
helpless  with  fever.     He  had  no  sooner  recovc 
than  he  gave  the  Indians   a  war-feast,  at  w\\^ 
they  all  sang  the  war-song,  except  Mado(.'ka\v;iiii 
and  some  thirty  of  his  clansmen,  whom  the  oih 
made  the  butt  of  their  taunts  and  ridituUv 
chief  began  to  waver.     The  officer  and  the  u 
sionary  beset  him  with  presents  and  persuasion, 
at  last  he  promised  to  join  the  rest. 

It  was  the  end  of  June  when  Villieu  and  Tim 
with  one  Frenchman  and  a  hundred  and  five 
dians,  began  their  long  canoe  voyage  to  the  E 
lish  border.     The  savages  were  directed  to  give 
quarter,  and  told  that  the  prisoners  already  in  tin 
hands  would  insure  the  safety  of  their  hostages 
the  hands  of  the  English.^     More  warriors  werel 
join  them  from  Bigofs  mission  on  the  Keniicb 
On  the  ninth  of  July,  they  neared  Pemaquld ;  but 
was  no  part  of  their  plan  to  attack  a  garrisoi 
post.     The  main  body  passed  on  at  a  safe  distaiK 
while    Villieu   approached    the   fort,    dressed  n 
painted  like  an  Indian,  and  accompanied  by  tj 
or  three  genuine  savages,  carrying  a   packet 
furs,  as  if  on  a  peaceful  errand  of  trade.    Such  vi 
from  Indians  had  been  common  since  the  treat 
and,  while  his  companions  bartered  their  beat 

*  Villebon,  M€moire,  Jnlllet,  1694 ;  Instruction  du  S^.  de  Villebon  an 
de  Villieu. 


ATTACK   AT  OYSTKU   IlIVKU. 


[ns  with  the  unsuspecting  soldiers,  lie  strolled 
out  the  neighborhood  and  made  a  plan  of  the 
Us.  The  party  was  soon  after  joined  by  Bigot's 
[iians,  and  the  united  force  now  amounted  to  two 
iilrc'd  and  thirty.  They  held  a  council  to  detei- 
Dc  where  they  should  umko  their  attack,  but 
Lions  differed.  Some  were  for  the  places  west 
I  Boston,  and  others  for  those  nearer  at  hand. 
cessity  decided  them.  Their  provisions  were  gone, 
Villieu  says  that  he  himself  was  dying  of  hun- 

They  therefore   resolved    to   strike   at  the 

|irest  settlement,  that  of  Oyster  Kiver,  now  Dur- 

1.  about  twelve  miles  from  Portsmouth.     They 

^tioiisly  moved  forward,  and  sent  scouts  in  ad- 

Bce,  who  reported  that  the  inhabitants  kept  no 

Itch.    In  fact,  a  messenger  from  Phips  had  as- 

ed  them  that  the  war  was  over,  and  that  they 

Jd  follow  their  usual  vocations  without  fear. 

|nilieu  and  his  band  waited  till  night,  and  then 

k  their  approach.     There  was  a  small  village  ; 

Itkirch  ;  a  mill ;  twelve  fortified  houses,  occupied 

most  cases  only  by  families;  and  many  unpro- 

fted  farm-houses,  extending  several  miles  along 

stream.    The  Indians  separated  into  bands,  and, 

ktioning  themselves  for  a  simultaneous  attack  at 

perous  points,  lay  patiently  waiting  till  towards 

The  moon  was  still  bright  when  the  first 
Dt  gave  the  signal,  and  the  slaughter  began. 
le  two  palisaded  houses  of  Adams  and  Drew, 
Ithout  garrisons,  were  taken  immediately,  and  the 
nilies  butchered.  Those  of  Edgerly,  Beard,  and 
e^lar  were  abandoned,  and  most  of  the  inmates 


,,  .~Js- 


3GG 


THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA. 


escnpofl.     The  rcmainirif]^  seven  were  sucocs^f| 
defended,  tliongli  several  of  them  wore  occiii 
only  by  the  families  which  owned  them.     Onj 
these,  belonging  to  Thomas  Bickford,  stood  l)v| 
river  near  the  lower  end  of  the  settlement,    lloi 
by  the  firing,  he  placed  his  wife  Jind  clilldivn 
boat,  sent  them  down  the  stream,  and  then 
back  alone  to  defend  his  dwelling.     When  thel 
dians  appeared,  he  fired  on  them,  soinetinu's  fl 
one  loophole  and  sometimes  from  another,  slj 
ing  the  word  of  command  to  an  imaginary  gai  ril 
and  showing  himself  with  a  diiferent  hat,  oai 
coat,  at  different  parts  of  the  building.     TIk? 
dians  were  afraid  to  approach,  and  he  saved 
family  and  home.     One  Jones,  the  owner  of 
other  of  these  fortified  houses,  was  wakened  b; 
barking  of  his  dogs,  and  went  out,  thinking 
his  hog-pen  was  visited  by  wolves.     The  flasli 
gun  in  the  twilight  of  the  morning  showed  the 
nature  of  the  attack.     The  shot  missed  him 
rowly ;  and,  entering  the  house  again,  he  stoo( 
his  defence,  when  the  Indians,  after  firing  for 
time  from  behind  a  neighboring  rock,  witlul 
and  left  him  in  peace.    Woodman's  garrison  hoj 
though  occupied  by  a  number  of  men,  was  attn( 
more  seriously,  the  Indians  keeping  up  a  h\v^ 
brisk  fire  from  behind   a  ridge  where   they 
sheltered ;    but  they  hit   nobody,  and  at  Ici 
disappeared.' 

Among  the  unprotected  houses,  the  Carnage 


1  Woodman's  garrison  house  is  still  standing,  having  been  care 
preserved  by  his  descendants. 


massache. 


307 


jililo.  A  hiinclrofl  and  four  porsons,  rlii(»nv 
[ion  anrl  cliildron  liiilf  linked  from  their  hcds, 
r,>  toinnliawked,  sliot,  or  killed  1)V  slower  and 
Lpiiinfid  niethods.  Some  (»scaped  (o  the  forti- 
Iioiiscs,  and  others  liid  in  tlio  woods.  Twenty- 
111  were  kept  alive  as  prisoners.  Twenty  or 
h'  houses  were  hnrned  ;  but,  what  is  remnrk- 
\j\w  church  was  spared.  Father  Tliury  entered 
iirini,^  the  massacre,  and  wrote  with  chalk  on 
Ipiilpit  sonic  Kcnteiiccs,  of  which  the  purport  is 
ijireservcd,  as  they  were  no  doubt  in  French  or 


having  been  care 


riiury  said  mass,  and  then  the  victors  retreated 
Ijhody  to  the  place  where  they  had  hidden  their 
ks.  Here  Taxous,  dissatisfied  with  the  scalps 
It  he  and  his  band  had  taken,  resolved  to  have 
re;  and  with  fifty  of  his  own  warriors,  joined  by 
Itis  from  the  Kennebec,  set  out  on  a  new  enter- 
te.  "  They  mean,"  writes  Villieu  in  his  diary, 
1)  divide  into  bands  of  four  or  five,  and  knock 
Iple  in  the  head  by  surprise,  which  cannot  fail 
produce  a  good  effect."  ^  They  did  in  fact  fall 
liiw  days  after  on  the  settlements  near  Groton, 

killed  some  forty  persons. 
IHaving  heard  from  one  of  the  prisoners  a  rumor 
pliips  on  the  way  from  England  to  attack  Quebec, 
llieii  thought  it  necessary  to  inform  Frontenac 
lonce.  Attended  by  a  few  Indians,  he  travelled 
days  and  nights,  till  he  found  Bigot  at  an 

I'" Casscr  des  testes  h.  la  surprise  aprhs  s'cstre  divis^s  en  plusieurs 
m  (le  quatre  au  cinq,  ce  qui  ne  peut  manquer  de  faire  un  bon  effect." 

llieu,  Relation. 


^ 


368 


THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA. 


Abenaki  fort  on  the  Kennebec.  His  Indians 
completely  exhausted.  He  took  others  in 
place,  pushed  forward  again,  reached  Quebecl 
the  twenty-second  of  August,  found  that  FroJ 
nac  had  gone  to  Montreal,  followed  hiiu  tliitj 
told  his  story,  and  presented  him  with  tliirt 
English  scalps.'  He  had  displayed  in  the  achi^ 
ment  of  his  detestable  exploit  an  energy,  pel 
verance,  and  hardihood  rarely  equalled ;  bul 
would  have  been  vain  but  for  the  help  of 
clerical  colleague  Father  Pierre  Thury.-' 

The  Indian  Tribes  of  Acadia. — The  namo  Ahnn. 
generic,  and  of  very  loose  application.  As  employed  by  thel 
French  writers  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  it  mi 
taken  to  include  the  tribes  from  the  Kennebec  eastward  to  tli 
John.  These  again  may  be  sub-divided  as  follows  FirstJ 
Canibas  (Kenibas),  or  tribes  of  the  Kennebec  and  adjacent  \\t 
These  with  kindred  neighboring  tribes  on  the  Saco,  the 


*  "Dans  cette  assemblee  M.  de  Villieu  avec  4  sauvapcs  qu'il 
amends  de  TAccadie  pres^nta  ^  Monsieur  le  Comte  de  Froutci 
chevelures  angloiscs."     Callieres  au  Ministre,  19  Oct.,  1004. 

2  The  principal  authority  for  the  above  is  the  very  curious  /i« 
du  Voyage  fait  par  le  Sieur  de  Viliieu  .  .  .  pour  faire  la  Guerre  uux  A 
au  printemps  de  Van  1694.     It  is  tlie  narrative  of  Villieu  himself,  wi 
in  the  form  of  a  journal,  with  great  detail.    He  also  gives  a  brief 
mary  in  a  letter  to  the  minister,  7  Sept.   The  best  English  account  ii 
of  Belknap,  in  his  llistori/  of  New  Hampshire.  Cotton  Mather  ti  lis  the  i 
in  his  usual  unsatisfactory  and  ridiculous  manner.     Pike,  in  his  y 
says  that  ninety-four  persons  in  all  were  killed  or  taken.    Matlurj 
"  ninety  four  or  a  hundred."     The  Provincial  Record  of  New  llnmi^ 
estimates  it  at  eighty.     Charlevoix  claims  two  hundred  and  fliirt\ 
Villieu  himself  but  a  hundred  and  thirty-one.     Champigny,  IKiiit^ 
and  Callibres,  in  their  reports  to  the  court,  adopt  Villieu's  statna 
Frontenac  says  that  the  success  was  due  to  the  assurances  of 
which  Phips  had  given  the  settlers. 

In  the  Massachusetts  archives  is  a  letter  to  Phips,  written  just! 
the  attack.     The  devastation  extended  six  or  seven  miles.    Tiui 
also  a  number  of  depositions  from  persons  present,  giving  a  liui^ 
picture  of  the  cruelties  practised. 


INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  ACADIA. 


369 


n,  and  the  Sheepscot,  have  been  held  by  some  writers  to  be 
ll!u  iiakis  proper,  though  some  of  them,  such  as  the  Sokokis  or 
awkets  of  the  Saco,  spoke  a  dialect  distinct  from  the  rest. 
Uly,  the  tribes  of  the  Penobscot,  called  Tarratines  by  early 
Eiii;'laud  writers,  who  sometimes,  however,  give  this  name  a 
Lxtt'iided  application.  Thirdly,  the  IMalicites  (Marechit(!s)  of 
kt,  Croix  and  the  St.  John.  These,  with  the  Penobscots  or 
(jiiues,  are  the  Etchemins  of  early  French  writers.  All  these 
s^P'uk  dialects  of  Algonquin,  so  nearly  related  that  tlu'v  under- 
ieach  other  with  little  difticulty.  That  eminent  Indian  philolo- 
Jlr.  J.  Hammond  Trumbull,  writes  to  me:  ''The  JVlalicite. 
Id'iobscot,  and  the  Kennebec,  or  Caniba,  are  dialects  of  the 
|!an2fiiage,  which  may  as  well  be  called  Abenaki.     The  first 

differs  more  considerably  from  the  other  two  than  do  these 
Iracli  other.  In  fact  the  Caniba  and  the  Penobscot  are  m"rely 
Lcial  dialects,  with  no  greater  difference  than  is  found  in 
[English  counties."  The  case  is  widely  different  with  the 
Bcs,  the  Souriquois  of  the  French,  who  occupy  portions  of 
[Scotia  and  New  Brunswick,  and  ^ho  speak  a  language  which, 

of  Algonquin  origin,  differs  as  much  from  the  Abenaki 
[ts  as  Italian  differs  from  French,  and  was  once  described 
i  by  a  Malicite  (Passamaquoddy)  Indian  as  an  unintelligible 


c  4  sauvagos  qu'il 
Cerate  de  Froiitci 

9  Oct.,  1G04. 

le  very  curious  Rt 

'aire  la  Gunne  mix 
Villieu  liiniself,  wi 

D  also  gives  a  britf 

3t  English  account  il 

ton  Mather  tills  the 

er.     Pike,  in  his  j' 

or  taken.    Mutiitr 

lecord  of  New  ll'im^ 
hundred  and  tliirt} 
Champigny,  rnnit^ 
opt  Villieu's  siaum 
he  assurances  of 


84 


r 

'  1     ■ 

% 

•  1 

CHAPTER  XVn. 

1690-1697. 

NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND. 

The  Frontier  of  New  England.  —  Border  Warfare.  —  M<j 
or  THE  French.  —  Needless  Barbarity.  —  Who  were  anj 
BLE?  —  Father  Thury.  —  The   Adenakis  waver. —  Tni;A| 
AT  Pemaquid.  —  Capture  of  Pemaquid.  —  Projected  Ai  i\ 
Boston.  —  Disappointment.  —  Miseries  op  the  FRONTifii 
Captive  Amazon. 

"  This  stroke,"  says  Villebon,  speaking  oi 
success  at  Oyster  River,  "  is  of  great  advau| 
because  it  breaks  off  all  the  talk  of  peace  betj 
our  Indians  and  the  English.     The  English 
despair,  for  not  even  infants  in  the  cradle 
spared."  * 

I  have  given  the  story  in  detail,  as  showin| 
origin  and  character  of  the  destructive  rai(| 
which  New  England  annalists  show  only  tlij 
suits.  The  borders  of  New  England  were 
liarly  vulnerable.  In  Canada,  the  settlers 
their  houses  in  lines,  within  supporting  distai 
each  other,  along  the  margin  of  a  river  wliicl 
plied  easy  transportation  for  troops;  and,  in | 
of  danger,  they  all  took  refuge  in  forts  undei 

*  *'Ce  coup  est  trJjs-avantageux,  parcequ'il  rompte  tons  I« 
parlers  de  paix  entre  nos  sauvages  et  les  Anglois.    Lcs  Aiiglois] 
d^sespoir  de  ce  <,£u'il8  ont  tue  jusqu'aux  enfants  au  berceau." 
au  Mmistre,  19  Sept.,  1694. 


k]       THE  FRONTIER  OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


371 


\(i  of  the  local  seigniors,  or  of  officers  with 
Lhmcnts  of  soldiers.     The  exposed  part  of  the 
acli  colony  extended  along  the  St.  Lawrence 
ot  ninety  miles.     The  exposed  frontier  of  New 
li;mcl  was   between   two   and     three   hundred 
Y  long,  and  consisted  of  farms  and  hamlets, 
lly  scattered    through   an  almost   impervious 
it.    Mutual  support  was  difficult  or  impos.sible. 
ofly  of   Indians  and    Canadians,  approaching 
^tlyand  swiftly,  dividing  into  small  bands,  and 
at  once  upon  the  isolated  houses  of  an  ex- 
Ive  district,  could  commit  prodigious  havoc  in 
prt  time,  and  with  little  danger.     Even  in  so- 
villages,  the  houses  were  far  apart,  because, 
Ipt  on  the  sea-shore,  the  people  lived  by  farm- 
Such  as  were  able  to   do  so   fenced   their 
fings  with  palisades,  or  built  them  of  solid 
n,  with  loopholes,  a  projecting  upper  story 
blockhouse,  and  sometimes  a  flanker  at  one 
ore  of  the  corners.     In  the  more  considerable 
bents,  the  largest  of  these  fortified  houses 
occupied,  in  time  of  danger,  by  armed  men, 
pved  as  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  neighbors, 
palisaded    house    defended    by    Con  vers    at 
Is  was  of  this  sort,  and  so  also  was  the  Wood- 
I  house  at  Oyster  River.     These  were  "  garri- 
louses,"  properly  so  called,  though  the  name 
often  given   to  fortified   dwellings  occupied 
|by  the  family.     The  French  and  Indian  war- 
es commonly  avoided  the  true  garrison  houses, 
fery  rarely  captured  them,  except  unawares ; 
leir  tactics  were  essentially  Iroquois,  and  con- 


•  t 


372 


NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND. 


(108 


sisted,  for  the  most  part,  In  pouncing  upon  peuci 
settlers  by  surprise,  and  generally  in. the  uU 
Combatants  and  non-combatants  were  slau^^litt 
together.   By  parading  the  number  of  slain,  wid 
mentioning   that  most  of  them  were  wo  men 
children,  and  by  counting  as  forts  mere  private  lioJ 
surrounded   with   palisades,   Charlevoix  and  ij 
waiters  have  given  the  air  of  gallant  exploits  tO| 
which  deserve  a  very  different  name.     To  iitj 
military  posts,  like  Casco  and  Pemaquid,  wds 
gitimate  act  of  war;  but  systematically  to  butj 
helpless  farmers  and  their  families  can  hardly 
as  such,  except  from  the  Iroquois  point  of  vici 

The  chief  alleged  motive  for  this  ruthless 
fare  was  to  prevent  the  people  of  New  Eng 
from  invading  Canada,  by  giving  them  em] 
ment  at  home;  tliough,  in  fact,  they  had  ii 
thought  of  invading  Canada  till  after  these  ati 
began.  But  for  the  intrigues  of  DenonvilloJ 
Bigots,  Thury,  and  Saint-Castin,  before  war] 
declared,  and  the  destruction  of  Salmon  Falls 
it,  Phips's  expedition  would  never  have 
place.  By  successful  raids  against  the  bordi 
New  England,  Frontenac  roused  the  Cana 
from  their  dejection,  and  prevented  his  red 
from  deserting  him ;  but,  in  so  doing,  he  bn 
upon  himself  an  enemy  who,  as  Charlevoix  liii 
says,  asked  only  to  be  let  alone.  If  there 
political  necessity  for  butchering  women  andj 
dren  on  the  frontier  of  New  England,  it  was 
cessity  created  by  the  French  themselves. 

There  was  no  such  necessity.    Massachusett 


k.) 


NEEDLESS  BARBARITY. 


373 


I  only  one  of  the  New  England  colonies  which 
Ik  an  aggressive  part  in  the  contest.  Connecti- 
(1i(l  little  or  nothing.  Rhode  Island  was  non- 
pbatant  through  Quaker  influence;  and  New 
{iipsliire  was  too  weak  for  offensive  war.  Massa- 
[vctts  was  in  no  condition  to  fight,  nor  was  Aie 
lellcd  to  do  so  by  the  home  government.  Oan- 
iwas  organized  for  war,  and  must  fight  at  tlie 
[ling  of  the  king,  who  made  the  war  and  paid 
lit.  Massachusetts  was  organized  for  peace  ;  and, 
[lie  chose  an  aggressive  part,  it  was  at  her  own 

and  her  own  cost.  She  had  had  fighting 
[ugh  already  against  infuriated  savages  far  more 
aerous  than  the  Iroquois,  and  poverty  and  po- 
[;il  rcvohition  made  peace  a  necessity  to  her. 
tliere  w\as  danger  of  another  attack  on  Quebec, 
ks  not  from  New  England,  but  from  Old ;  and 
pount  of  frontier  butchery  could  avert  it. 
lor,  except  their  inveterate  habit  of  poaching 
|.\cadian  fisheries,  had  the  people  of  New  Eng- 

provoked  these  barbarous  attacks.  They 
[er  even  attempted  to  retaliate  them,  though 
jsettlements  of  Acadia  offered  a  safe  and  easy 
^nge.  Once,  it  is  true,  they  pillaged  Beau- 
tin  ;  but  they  killed  nobody,  though  countless 
mcries  in  settlements  yet  more  defenceless  were 
[h  in  their  memory.^ 

iTlie  pt'ople  of  Beaubassin  had  taken  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  Eng- 
jinlGOO,  and  pleaded  it  as  a  reason  for  exemption  from  plunder;  but 
ws  by  French  authorities  that  they  had  violated  it  (Observations 
tDepeckes  touchant  I'Acndie,  1695),  and  their  priest  Baudoin  had  led 
lof  Micmacs  to  the  attack  of  Wells  (Villebon,  Journal).  When  tho 
[tonniiis  "  captured  Port  Royal,  they  are  described  by  the  French 
«ssivcly  irritated  by  the  recent  slaughter  at  Salmon  Falls,  yet  the 
Ifevenge  they  took  was  plundering  some  of  the  inhabitants. 


374 


NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND. 


[le 


■.] 


goi 


teach 
anion 
the  J' 
nary  ] 
tic  do 
EiiL'-lis] 
liisive 
vs  af  te 
.  poli( 
found 
e  wrot 
ill  the 
Intlijin 


With  New  York,  a  colony  separate  in 
raent  and  widely  sundered  in  local  ^xisition 
case  was  different.     Its  rulers  had  instigated 
Iroquois  to  attack  Canada,  possibly  before  the 
laration  of  war,  and   certainly  after  it ;  and 
had  no  right  to  complain  of  reprisal.     Ye 
frontier  of  New  York  was  less  frequently  ass 
because  it  was  less  exposed ;  while  that  of 
England  was  drenched  in  blood,  because  it 
open  to  attack,  because  the  Abenakis  were  co 
ient    instruments    for   attacking    it,   because 
adhesion  of  these  tribes  was  necessary  to  the 
tenance  of  French  power  in  Acadia,  and  be 
this  adhesion  could  best  be   secured  by  inci 
them   to    constant   hostility  against  the  En 
They  were  not  only  needed  as  the  barrier  of 
ada  against  New  England,  but  the  French  ^p, 
manders  hoped,  by  means  of  their  tomahawli^Bse  his 
drive  the  English  beyond  the  Piscataqua,  an^Bifovern 
cure  the  whole  of  Maine  to  the  French  crownJ 

Who  w^ere  answerable  for  these  offences  airi 
Christianity  and   civilization?      First,   the 
and,  next,  the  governors  and  military  ofFicers 
were  charged  with  executing  his  orders,  and 
often  execiuted  them  with  needless  barbarity. 
a  far  different  responsibility  rests  on  the  \\m 
ary  priests,  who  hounded   their  converts  oi 
track  of  innocent  blood.     The  Acadian  pries 
not  all  open  to  this  charge.     Some  of  then 
even  accused  of  being  too  favorable  to  the  En<i 
while  others  gave  themselves  to  their  proper  v 
and  neither  abused  their  influence,  nor  perv 


tere  is  : 

prorap 

was  b 

cliartra 


ry,  hac 
anew. 


Tibiorjrc, 
"Les  tome 
ill  S';  lie 
e,  et  p.'irti 
cnimcnce 
une  plus  f 
|iccor(le  po 
ff.'cc,  IG  yli 
Jo  s'.iis  bi( 
[tstc  iiiforn 
Tostre  mi 
onavcc  h 
le  service 
"  Le  M 
n  two  yej 


LAND. 


lie 


c] 


FATHER  TnURY. 


375 


ite  m  go 
l1  iX).sition 


instigated 
before  the 
•  it;  and 
•isal.     Ye 
uently  ass; 
3   that  of 
because  it 
is  were  co 
t,   becausG 
ry  to  the 
ia,  and  be 
'ed  by  inc] 
;t  the  Ell 
barrier  of 


teaching  to  political  ends.  The  most  promi- 
aiiiong  the  apostles  of  carnage,  at  this  time, 
the  Jesuit  Bigot  on  the  Kennebec,  and  the 
nary  priest  Thury  on  the  Penobscot.  There 
[tie  doubt  that  the  latter  instigated  attacks  on 
English  frontier  before  the  war,  and  there  is 
liisive  evidence  that  he  had  a  hand  in  repeated 
ivs  after  it  began.  Whether  acting  from  fanat- 
.  policy,  or  an  odious  compound  of  both,  he 
I'oLiiid  so  useful,  that  the  minister  Ponchartrain 
e  wrote  him  letters  of  commendation,  praising 
ill  the  same  breath  for  his  care  of  the  souls  of 
Indians  and  his  zeal  in  exciting  them  to  war. 
ere  is  no  better  man,"  says  an  Acadian  official, 
prompt  the  savages  to  any  enterprise."  *  The 
was  begged  to  reward  him  with  money ;  and 

e  French  ^Hchartrain  wrote  to  the  bishop  of  Quebec  to  in- 
tomahawl^Bse  his  pay  out  of  the  allowance  furnished  by 

ataqua,  an(^government  to  the  Acadian  clergy,  because  he, 
ry,  had  persuaded  the  Abenakis  to  begin  the 
arievv.^ 

iTibiorco,  M<fmo{re  stir  I'Acadle,  1005. 

"Lcs  tonioignnges  qu'on  a  rendu  a  Sa  Majeste  de  I'affection  et  du 

S';  de  Thury,  missionairc  chez  les  Canibas  (Abenalis),  pour  son 

^et  particulieremcnt  dans  rengagcment  oU  il  a  mis  lcs  Sauvages 

cnimcncer  la  guerre  contrc  les  Anglois,  m'oblige  de  vous  prior  de  luy 
June  plus  forte  part  sur  les  1,500  livres  do  gratification  que  Sa  Maj- 
iiccoide  pour  los  ecclcsiastiques  de  I'Acadie."  Le  Ministre  a  I'l^vesrjue 
W,  IG  Avril,  1695. 

jJc  suis  bien  aise  de  me  servir  de  cette  occasion  pour  vous  dire  que 
leste  informc,  non  sculemont  de  vostre  zcle  et  de  vostre  api)lication 
JTostre  mission,  et  du  progrbs  qu'elle  fait  pour  I'avancemcnt  de  la 
Ion  avec  les  sauvages,  niais  encore  de  vos  soins  pour  les  niaintenir 
jle  service  de  Sa  Majeste  et  pour  les  cncourager  aux  expeditions  de 
Le  Ministre  a  Tlumj,  28  Avril,  1697.  The  other  letter  to  Thuiy 
fcn  two  years  before,  is  o^  the  same  tenor. 


nch  crown.1 
offences  ad 
irst,   the 
ary  officers  I 
3rders,  audi 
barbarity. 
on  the  niia 
onverts  on 
dian  priest 
le  of  then 
to  the  End 
3ir  proper  \1 
I,  nor  perv^ 


■ft  ♦ 


F-i 


)■''«•>» 


i     s 


376 


NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND.       [!( 


The  French  missionaries  are  said  to  linvo 
use   of   singular  methods    to   excite   thoir 
against  the  heretics.   The  Abenaki  cliief  BoniaJ 
when  a  prisoner  at  Boston  in   1696,  declMrod 
they  told  the   Indians    that   Jesus  Cliri.st 
Frenchman,  and  his  mother,  the  Virgin,  a  Fi 
lady;   that  the   English  had   murdered  himJ 
that  the  best  way  to  gain  his  favor  was  to  rci 
his  death.' 

Whether  or  not  these  articles  of  faith  foi 
a  part  of  the  teachings  of  Thury  and  his  fi 
apostles,  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  was  n  recofirj 
part  of  their  functions  to  keep  their  convej 
hostility  to  the  English,  and  that  their  cro(lit| 
the  civil  powers  depended  on  their  success  in 
so.     The  same  holds  true  of  the  priests  of  t]i( 
sion  villages  in   Canada.     They  avoided  nll| 
might  hnpair  the  warlike  spirit  of  the  noo] 
and  they  were  well  aware  that  in  savages  th( 
like  spirit  is  mainly  dependent  on  native  fiM 
They  taught  temperance,  conjugal  fidelity,  de 
to  the  rites  of  their  religion,  and  submission 
priest ;  but  they  left  the  savage  a  savage  still 
spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  the  civil  authoj 
the  mission  Indian  was  separated  as  far  as  p( 
from  intercourse  with  the  French,  and  discou 

1  Mather,  Magnolia,  II.  629.  Compare  Dummer,  Memorial, 
Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  3  Sei:,  I.,  and  tlie  same  writer's  Letter  to  a  Xi 
concerning  the  Late  Expedition  to  Canada,  1712.  Dr.  Charles  T. 
the  geologist,  when  engaged  in  the  survey  of  Maine  in  1830,  nieii 
an  example  of  the  simplicity  of  the  Acadians  of  Madawaska,  tli^ 
them  asked  him  "if  Bethlehem,  where  Christ  was  born,  was  nc 
in  France."  First  Report  on  the  Geolocji/ of  Maine,  12.  Here,  p« 
a  tradition  from  early  missionary  teaching. 


FATITEH  TIIURT. 


0»T^ 


o/ 


learning   tlie   French   tongue.     Tie  wore   a 
[ilix,  hung  wampum  on  the  .slu'ine  of  the  Virgin, 
his  heafls,  prayed  three  times  a  day,  knelt  for 
hofore  the  Host,  invoked  the  saints,  and  con- 
to  the  priest ;  but,  witli  rare  exceptions,  he 
yprcd,  scalped,  and  tortured  like  his  heathen 
Itrvmen.^ 

fie  picture  has  another  side,  wh'''h  must  not 

unnoticed.     Early  in  the  war,  the  French  of 

lla  began  the  merciful  practice  of  buying  Eng- 

prlsoners,  and  especially  children,  from  their 

lin  allies.     After  the  hrst  fury  of  attack,  many 


Oio  famous  Oureliaoud,  wlio  liad  l)oon  for  years  under  tlio  influenco 

priests,  and  who,  as  ('liarlevoix  says,  died  "  un  vrai  Clireti<,'n," 
[Ki]  Oil  liis  doatli-bc'd  how  Christ  was  crucified  by  the  Jews,  ex- 
Iwith  fervor :  "  Ah  !  wliy  was  not  I  tlierc "?     I  would  have  revenged 

.voiild  have  had  their  scalps."  La  I'otherie,  IV.  til.  Charlevoix, 
[iisfiishionon  such  occasions,  suppresses  the  reveni^e  and  the  scalp- 

linstead  makes  the  dying  Christian  say,  "  I  would  have  prevented 
I'rom  so  treating  my  God." 

savage  custom  of  forcing  prisoners  to  run  the  gauntlet,  and 
Jmos  beating  them  to  death  ns  they  did  so,  was  continued  at  two, 
ill,  of  the  mission  villages  down  to  the  end  of  the  French  domina- 

Gtnoral  Stark  of  the  Revolution,  when  a  young  man,  waa 
bil  to  this  kind  of  torture  at  St.  Francis,  but  saved  Mmself  by 
liii!,' a  club  from  one  of  the  savages,  and  knocking  the  vest  to  the 
pi  left  as  he  ran.  The  practice  was  common,  and  must  have  had 
pent  of  the  priests  of  the  mission. 

Ithe  Sulpitian  mission  of  the  JMountain  of  Montreal,  unlike  the 
tc  converts  were  taught  to  speak  French  and  practise  mechanical 
nlie  absence  of  such  teaching  in  other  missions  was  the  subject  of 
let  complaint,  not  only  from  Frontenac,  but  from  other  otticera. 
ktCadillac  writes  bitterly  en  the  subject,  and  contrasts  the  con- 
Jf  the  French  priests  with  that  of  the  English  ministers,  who  have 
cmaiiy  Indians  to  read  and  write,  and  reward  them  for  teaching 
lin  turn,  which  they  do,  he  says,  with  great  success.  Memoire  con- 
m"  iJrscription  deluill^e  de  I' Accidie,  etc.,  1G93.  In  fact,  Eliot  and  hil 
pers  took  great  pains  in  this  respect.  There  were  at  this  time  thirty 
I  churches  in  New  England,  according  to  the  Diary  of  Presideui 
Icited  by  Holmes. 


i 


378 


NEW  FllANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND. 


i* 


hi 


I  .{• 


i;*-     '' 


lives  were  spared  for  the  sfike  of  this  nuu 
Soinetiines,  but  not  always,  the  redeeined  capj 
were  made  to  work  for  their  benefactors. 
were  uniforndy  treated  well,  and  often  with 
kindness  that  they  would  not  be  exchanged, 
became  Canadians   by  adoption. 

Villebon  was  still  full  of  anxiety  as  to  th(^  a(j 
sion  of  the  Abenakis.     Thury  saw  the  dan^-cr 
more  clearly,  and  told   Frontenac  that  tlieir 
attack  at  Oyster  River  was  due  more  to  levity 
to  any  other  cause  ;  that  they  were  greatly  alari 
wavering,  half  stupefied,  afraid  of  the  English, 
distrustful  of  the  French,  whom  they  accuso( 
using  them  as  tools.'     It  was  clear  that  soiuetl 
must  be  done ;  and  nothing  could  answer  the 
pose   so   well    as   the  capture   of   Pemaquid. 
English  stronghold  which  held  them  in  cons^ 
menace,  and  at  the  same  time  tempted  tlieiuj 
offers  of  goods  at  a  low  rate.     To  the  capturj 
Pemaquid,  therefore,  the  French  government  tui 
its  thoughts. 

One    Pasclio    Chubb,   of    Andover,  connnan] 
the   post,  with   a  garrison  of   ninety -five  mill 
men.     Stoughton,  governor  of  Massachusetts, 
written    to    the   Abenakis,   upbraiding   them 
breaking  the  peace,  and  ordering  them  to  briiij 
their    prisoners   without   delay.     The   Indiain] 
Bigot's  mission,  that  is  to  say,  Bigot  in  their  im 
retorted  by  a  letter  to  the  last  degree  haughty 
abusive.     Those  of  Thury's  mission,  however,  \i 
80  anxious  to  recover  their  friends  held  in  pr| 

1  Thury  a  Frontenac,  11  Sept.,  1694. 


PKMAQUII)   ATTACKKD. 


379 


coniinaiil 


[oslon  tliat  tlioy  came  to  Poinaquld,  nnd  oponed 
iiiforenco  Avitli  Cliiil)!).  Tlic  French  say  that 
[meant  only  (o  deceive  him.'  This  does  not 
[ly  the  Massachusetts  ollicer,  who,  hy  an  act  of 
[his  treachery,  killed  several  ol'  them,  and  cap- 
>(1  the  chief,  Egeremet.  Nor  was  this  the  only 
l/ioii  on  which  the  En;j,l!sh  had  acted  in  had  faith. 
IS  but  playing  into  the  hands  of  the  French,  who 
)wilh  delight  that  the  folly  of  their  enemies  had 
;il  their  own  intrigues.- 

[ally  in  IGDO,  two  ships  of  war,  the  "Fnvieux" 

the  '^  Profond,"  one  connnanded  by  Ibervillf" 

the  other  by  Bonavcnture,  sailed  from  Ivoche- 

to  Quebec,  where   they  took  on  board  eighty 

Us  and   Canadians ;    then   proceeded   to   Cape 

liun,    embarked    thirty   MIcmac    Indians,   and 

red   for  the  St.    John.     Here    they  met   two 

lisli  frigates  and  a  provincial  tender  belonging 

iMassachusetts.     A   fight   ensued.     The   forces 

|e very  unequal.     The  ^-Newport,"  of  twenty- 

<,nms,  was  dismasted  and  taken ;  but  her  com- 

lion  frigate  along  with  the  tender  escaped  in  the 

I,  The  French  tlien  anchored  at  the  mouth  of  the 

IJolm,  where  Vill ebon  and  the  priest  Simon  were 

[ting  for  them,  with  ility  more  Micmacs.     Simon 

the  Indians  went  on  board  ;  and  they  all  sailed 

Pentegoet,   where    Villieu,    with    twenty-live 

fiers,  and  Thury  and  Saint-Castin,  with  some 


";?i 


i.m 


Villobon,  Journal,  1094-1000. 

iV.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  013,  010,  042,  043  ;  La  Potlicrlo,  III.  '258 ;  Col- 
|(iii  Mlnistre,  25  Oct.,  1095 ;  liev.  Jolm  Pike  to  Governor  and  Council,  7 
^109:1  (1095),  in  Johnston,  IJist.  of  Bristol  and  Bremen;  Hutchinson, 
\Mass.,  n.  81,  90. 


/;!      ^ 


'     -'i:  ii:.:;. 


•-    i 


380 


NEW  FRANCE  AND  NKW  ENGLAND. 


I.I 


three  hiiiiflred  Abonnkis,  were  ready  to  join 
After  t]i(»  usual  fenstiii<^,  these  new  allies  puc 
for  PciiijHiuid  ;  the  ships  followed;  and  oi 
next  day,  the  foiirleenth  of  August,  they  all  w 
their  destinatioti. 

The  fort  of  Peinarpiid  stood  at  the  west  sij 
the  promontory  of  the  same  name,  on  a 
point  at  tlie  mouth  of  Pemaquid  Kiver.  It 
quadrant^le,  with  ramparts  of  rough  stone,  l»ii 
great  pains  and  cost,  hut  exposed  to  artillcryl 
incapable  of  resisting  heavy  shot.  The  goj 
ment  of  Massachusetts,  with  its  usual  mil 
fatuity,  had  placed  it  in  the  keeping  of  an 
connnander,  and  permitted  some  of  the  yo^ 
garrison  to  bring  their  wives  and  cliildrcMi  t< 
dangerous  and  important  post. 

8aint-Castin   and    his   Indians    landed    at 
Harbor,  half  a  league  from  the  fort.     Troopi 
cannon  were  sent  ashore  ;  and,  at   five  o'clot 
the  afternoon,  Chubb  was  summoned  to  surroj 
He  replied  that  he  would  fight,  ''  even  if  ihi 
were  covered  with  French  ships  and  the  land  I 
Indians."     The  firing  then  began  ;  and  the  I^ 
marksmen,  favored  by  the  nature  of  the  gr^ 
ensconced   themselves  near  the  fort,  well  coj 
from  its  cannon.     During  the  night,  mortari 
heavy  ships'  guns  were  landed,  and  by  great 
tion  were  got  into  position,  the  two  priests  woj 
lustily  with  the  rest.     They  opened  fire  at 
o'clock  on   the  next  day.     Saint-Castin  hail 
before  sent  Chubb  a  letter,  telling  him  that, 
garrison  were  obstinate,  they  would  get  no  qui 


ri:MA<^UID  TAKEN. 


381 


would  be   biitclu^rod   by  Ibc   Indians.     Close 
itliis  message  follo\vc'(l  lour  or  five  bouib-sbolls. 
[lb  succundjod  ininiediatcly,  soundrd  a  pailcy, 
nave  up  the  fort,  on  condition  that  he  and  his 
•liould  be  protected   IVoui  tlif  Indians,  sent  to 
loll,  and   exciianged  for  French  and  Abenaki 
iieis.     They  all  mnrched  out  without  arms; 
Iberville,  true  to  his  ])ledi:;e,  sent  them   to  an 
[1  in   the  bay,  beyond    the   reach  of    his   red 
Villieu  took  possession  of  the  fort,  \vhere 
Indian  prisoner  ^vas  found  in  irons,  half   dead 
long  conlinenient.     This  so  enraged  his  eoun- 
.11  that  a  massacre  would  infallibly  have  taken 
J;  but  for  the  precjiution  of  Iberville. 
iic  cannon  of  PenuKjiiid  were  carried  on  board 
>hips,  and    the  small    arms   and   annnunition 
la  to  the  Indians.     Two   days  were   spent  in 
}o\  ing  the  works,  and  then  the  victors  with- 
in triumph.     Disgraceful  as  was  the  prompt 
mder  of  the  fort,  it  may  be  doubted  if,  even 
the   best   defence,  it   could    have    held  out 
Ivclays;  for  it  had  no  casemates,  and  its  occu- 
lt were  defenceless  against  the   explosion  of 
Chubb  was  arrested  for  cowardice  on  his 
m,and  remained  some  months  in  prison.  After 
(ilease,  he  returned  to  his  family  at  Andover, 
py  miles  from  Boston ;  and  here,  in  the  year 
Iwing,  he  and  his  wife  were  killed  by  Indians, 
I  seem  to  have  pursued  him  to  this  apparently 
asylum    to   take  revenge   for   his  treachery 
krd  their  countrymen.^ 

paudoin,  Journal  d'un    Voyage  fait   avec  M.   d'lbervilte.    Baudoin 


'  ■ 


'■: 


m\  I 

I.  •Hi  li 


f^- 


382 


NEW  FRANCE   AND  NEW  ENGLAND.    [ICOoJ 


i:  \ 


The  people  of   Massachusetts,   compelled 
royal  order  to  build  and  maintahi  Pemaquid, 
no  love  for  it,  and  underrated  its  importance. 
ing  been  accustomed  to  spend  their  monov  as 
themselves  saw  fit,  they   revolted   at  roinptjf 
though  exercised  for  their  good.     Peniaquid 
nevertheless  of  the  utmost  value  for  the  pix- 
tion  of  their  hold  on  Maine,  and  its  conquest 
crowning  triumph  to  the  French. 

The  conqueroi's  now  2:)rojected  a  greater  exi 
The  Marquis  de  Nesmond,  with  a  powerful  s 
ron  of  fifteen  ships,  includiug  some  of  the  l)o^ 
the  royal  navy,  sailed  for  Newfoundland, 
orders  to  defeat  an  English  squadron  suppose 
be  there,  and  then  to  proceed  to  the  mouth  ol 
Penobscot,  where  he  was  to  be  joined  by  the 
naki  warriors  and  fifteen  hundred  troops 
Canada.  The  whole  united  force  was  then 
upon  Boston.  The  French  had  an  exact  know! 
of  the  place.  Meneval,  when  a  prisoner  tj 
lodged  in  the  house  of  John  Nelson,  had  car 
examined  it ;  and  so  also  had  the  Chevalier  d'. 
while  La  Motte-Cadillac  had  reconnoitred  tlie 
and  harbor  before  the  war  began.  An  accj 
map  of  them  was  made  for  the  use  of  the  e.N 
tion,  and  the  plan  of  operations  was  arraugedj 
great  care.     Twelve  hundred  troops  and  Caiia 

was  an  Aradian  priest,  who  accompanied  the  expedition,  wliiclij 
scribes  in  detail.     Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe'',  etc.,  KlOo,  1090  ;  />5j 
au  Miiiistre,  23  Sept.,   1G9G ;    Hutcliinson,  Hist.   Mass.,  11.80; 
Magnalia,  II.  Go3.     A  letter  from  Clmbb.  asking  to   he  rclonsf 
prison,  is  pnscrveil  in  tlie  archives  of  Massachusetts.     I  liave  ej 
tht  site  of  tile  fort,  the  remains  of  wiiich  are  still  distinct. 


PROJECTED  ATTACK   ON   BOSTO?^. 


fJOO 


to  land  Avitli  artillery  at  Dorchester,  and  march 
Ince  to  force  the  barricade  across  the  neck  of 
peninsula  on  which  the  town  stood.  At  the 
le  time,  Saint  Castin  was  to  land  at  Noddle's 
nd,  with  a  troop  of  Canadians  and  all  the  In- 
[>;  pass  over  in  canoes  to  Charlestown;  and, 
mastering  it,  cross  to  the  north  point  of 
\m,  which  would  thus  be  attacked  at  both 
During  these  movements,  two  hundred 
[ers  were  to  seize  the  battery  on  Castle  Island, 
Itlicn  land  in  front  of  the  town  near  Long 
Irf,  under  the  guns  of  the  fleet. 
b^ton  had  about  seven  thousand  inhabitants, 
[owing  to  the  seafaring  habits  of  the  people, 
of  its  best  men  were  generally  absent ;  and, 
le  belief  of  the  French,  its  available  force  did 
pich  exceed  eight  hundred.  "  There  are  no 
p  in  the  place,"  say  the  directions  for  attack, 
[east  there  were  none  last  September,  except 
prrison  from  Pemaquid,  who  do  not  deserve 
lame."  An  easy  victory  was  expected.  After 
pii  was  taken,  the  land  forces,  French  and  In- 
iwere  to  march  on  Salem,  and  thence  north- 
to  Portsmouth,  conquering  as  they  went; 
the  ships  followed  along  the  coast  to  lend  aid, 
necessary.  All  captured  places  were  to  be 
llotely  destroyed  after  removing  all  valuable 
frty.  A  portion  of  this  plunder  was  to  be 
ioned  to  the  officers  and  men,  in  order  to  en- 
|ge  them,  and  the  rest  stowed  in  the  ships  for 
portation  to  France.^ 

f.:iuiirp  snr  V Entreprise  de  Dastcn,  pnnr  M.  le  Marquia  de  Nesmond, 
k  21  Avrily  1697 ;  Instruction  a  M.  le  Marquis  de  Desmond,  miiM 


ii 


I.    w 


!■! 


r-\ 


384 


NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND. 


Notice  of  the  proposed  expedition  luul  rea 
FronteiKic  in  the  spring ;  and  he  begjin  at  oiicl 
collect  men,  canoes,  and  supplies  for  the  1uii<t| 
arduous  march  to  the  rendezvous.     He  saw  cli 
the  uncertainties  of  the  attempt;  but,  in  splU'oj 
seventy-seven  years,  he  resolved  to  coiuniaiK 
land  force  in  person.     lie  was  ready  iu  Juno,] 
waited  only  to  hear  from  Nesmond.     The  sun 
passed  ;  and  it  was  not  till  September  tliat  a 
reached   Quebec   with  a  letter  from  the  man 
telling  him  that  head  winds  had  detained  I  Ik; 
till  only  fifty  days'  provision  remained,  and  it| 
too  late  for  action.    The  enterprise  had  coniph 
failed,  and  even  at  Newroundlaiid  nothing  wai 


date ;  Le  I\oi/  a  Fronfnmc,  tin'me  dutc  ;  Lc  Hoi/  a  Froiitrnac  ft  Clian 
27  Aviil,  1G')7;  Le  ,] fin! stir,  h  Nrsmond,  28 '^lyr/V,  10'J7  ;  Ibid,  li 
1G',)7  ;  Froiitc'iuic  au  Ministrc,  lo  '/(/.,  1G'.)7  ;  Carte  de  IJaslon,  jiaji 
FnvKjuclii),  1G!)7.  This  is  the  lunp  lUMde  for  tlio  use  of  tlii'  oxpod 
A  facsimile  of  it  is  before  mo.  Tlie  coiiquost  of  New  York  li;i(lj 
imlly  foriued  part  of  tlie  plan.  Lcu/nij  an  Ministre,  "20  Ji  m.,  lO'Jo. 
it  was,  too  much  was  attoiiiptcd,  and  the  sfliemc  was  iatally  coiiipl 
by  the  operations  at  Nowfoundhind.  Four  j'oars  before,  a  |>^()j^'cl 
tack  on  Quebec  by  a  Brilisli  lleet,  under  Admiral  Wiieekr,  luul  o{ 
nought  from  analogous  causes. 

The  French  spared  no  pains  to  gain  accurate  information  n3| 
etrength  of  the  Englisli  settlements.     Among  other  reports  on  tiji 
ject  there   is  a  curious  Mcnioire  sitr  les  Ftdlilisscmiiits  (Hu/'uis  an 
Pcinaquiil,Jitsqn'a  Baston.     It  was  made  just  after  the  capture  ot' 
quid,  witli  a  view  lo  farther  operations.     Saco  is  descriheil  as 
fort  a  league  above  the  nioutli  of  the  river  Saco,  with  four  c;inii(j 
fit  only  to  resist  Indians.     At  Wells,  it  says,  uU  the  settlers  liavo 
refuge  in  four  petiis  forts,  of  which  the  largest  holds  perhaps 
besides  women  and  children.    At  York,  all  the  people  have  gailmi 
one  fort,  where  there  are  about  40  men.     At  Portsmouth  there  ii 
of  slight  account,  and  about  a  hundreil  houses.     This  neighborliil 
doubt  including  Kittery,  can  furnish  at  most  about  80D  men. 
Isles  of  Shoals  there  are  some  2S0  fishernien,  who  are  absent,  oxj 
Sundays.   In  the  same  manner,  estimates  are  made  for  every  villi^ 
district  as  far  as  Boston. 


DISAPrOINTMENT. 


385 


plisliLMl.      It  proved   a   positive    arl vantage   to 

Kiigland,  since  a  host  of  Lulians,  who  would 
jruise  have  been  turned  loose  upon  the  borders, 

iradiered  by  Saint-Castin  at  the  Penobscot  to 
sl'or  the  fleet,  jind  kept  there  idle  all  summer. 

is  needless  to  dwell  farther  on  the  war  in 
l!ia.     There   were  petty  combats  by  laud  and 

Villieu  was  captured  and  carried  to  Boston; 
ml  of  New  England  rustics  niiule  a  futih^  at- 
|)t  lo  dislodge  ^'illebon  from  his  fort  at  Nax- 
wliile,  throughout  the  contest,  rivalry  and 
iiisv  rankled  amonii:  the  French  odicials,  who 
Iniially  nudigned  each  other  in  tell-tale  letters 
fe  court.     Their  hope  that  the  Abenakis  would 

buck  the  English  boundary  to  the  Piscatacpia 
|iiever   fulfilled.      At  Kittery,  at  Wells,  and 

ainonii;  the  ashes  of  York,  the  stubljorn 
|irslield  their  ground,  while  war-parties  prowled 

the  whole  frontier,  from  the  Kennebec  to 
IConiiecticut.  A  single  incident  will  show^  the 
Ire  of  the  situation,  and  the  qualities  which  it 
itiuies  called  forth. 

liiy  in  the  spring  that  followed  the  capture  of 
[iqiiid,  a  band  of  Indians  fell,  after  daybreak, 

nuinber  of  farm-houses  near  the  vilhige  of 

rliill.  One  of  them  belonged  to  a  settler 
[d  Dustan,  wdiose  wife  Hannah  had  borne  a 

a  week  before,  and  lay  in  the  house,  nursed 
Ian  Neff,  one  of  her  neighbors.  Dustan  had 
|to  his  work  in  a  neighboring  held,  taking  with 

liis  seven  children,  of  whom  the  youngest  was 
lyours  old.     Hearing  the  noise  of  the  attack, 

25 


i;    ►• 


't, 


38G 


NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENCLANP. 


f 


he  told  them  to  run  to  the  nearest  fortified  lioi 
a  mile  or  more  distant,  and,  snatching  up  l^.^ 
threw  himself  on  one  of  his  horses  and  gnll^ 
towards  his  own  house  to  save  his  wife.     It 
too  late  :  the  Indians  were  already  thoi'e.    Ih 
thought  only  of  saving  his  children;  and,  kvo] 
behind  them  as  they  ran,  he  fired  on  the  pursi 
savages,  and  held  them  at  bay  till  he  and  his 
reached  a  place  of  safety.     Meanwhile,  the  hj 
was  set  on  fire,  and  his  wife  and  the  nurse  cm 
off.     Tier  husband,  no  doubt,  had  given  her 
lost,  when,  weeks  after,  she  reappeared,  nc< 
panied  by  Mary  Neff  and  a  boy,  and  briiigiii( 
Indian    scalps.      Her  story  was  to  the  folloj 
effect. 

The  Indians  had  killed  the  new-born  chil^ 
dashing  it  against  a  tree,  after  which  the  iiu 
and  the  nurse  were  dragged  into  tlie  forest. 
they  found  a  number  of  friends  and  noiul 
their  fellows  in  misery.     Some  of  these  were 
ently  tomahawked,  and   the  rest   divided  ai 
their  captors.     Hannah  Dustan  and  the  nun 
to  the  share  of  a  family  consisting  of  two  wiw 
three  squaws,  and  seven  children,  who  sepj 
from  the  rest,  and,  hunting  as  they  went, 
northward  towards  an  Abenaki  village,  two] 
dred  and  fifty  miles  distant,  probably  that 
mission  on  the  Chaudiere.     Every  morning, 
and  evening,  they  told  their  beads,  and  re 
their  prayers.     An  English  boy,  captured  atj 
cester,  was  also  of  the  party.     After  a  whij 
Indians  began  to  amuse  themselves  by  tellii 


A  CAPTIVE   AMAZON. 


387 


Iriioii  that,  when  they  reached  the  village,  they 
jjltl  be  strippofl,  made  to  run  the  gauntlet,  and 
|prely  beaten,  accordhig  to  custom, 
laiinah   Dustan  now  resolved  on  a  desperate 
lit  to  escape,  and  Mary  Neff  and  the  boy  agreed 
|oin  in  it.    They  were  in  the  depths  of  the  forest, 
wny  on  their  journey,  and  the  Indians,  who 
Ino  distrust  of  them,  were  all  asleep  about  their 
Ip  fire,  when,  late  in  tlie  night,  the  two  women 
the  boy  took  each  a  hatchet,  and  crouched 
ktly   by   the    bare   heads   of    the    unconscious 
Us.     Then  they  all  struck  at  once,  with  blows 
m\  and  true  that  ten  of  the  twelve  Avere  killed 
lie  they  were  well   awake.     One    old   squaw 
[ng  Tip  wounded,  and  ran  screeching  into  the 
t,  followed  by  a  small  boy  whom  they  had 
osoly  left    unharmed.      Hannah    Dustan  and 
|companions  watched  by  the  corpses  till  day- 
then  the  Amazon  scalped  them  all,  and  the 
made  their  way  back  to  the  settlements,  with 
bphies  of  their  exploit.' 

m  story  is  told  by  Mather,  who  had  it  from  the  women  thera- 
jsnd  by  Niles,  Hutchinson,  and  others.  An  entry  in  tlie  contem  • 
Ijnunial  of  Rev.  John  Pike  fully  confirms  it.  The  facts  were 
pat  tiic  time.  Ilannali  Dustan  and  her  companions  recei red  a 
[of £50  for  their  ten  scalps;  and  the  governor  of  Maryland,  hear- 
pat  they  had  done,  sent  them  a  present. 


n 


CHAPTER  XVni. 

1693-1697. 

FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY. 

Lb  Motne  d'Iberville.  —  IIis  Exploits  in  Newfoundland, 
Hudson's  Bay.  —  The  Great  Prize.  —  The  Competitors— fJ 
Policy  of  the  Kino.  —  The  Iroquois  Question.  —  Nkgotiai 
—  Firmness  of  Frontenac.  —  English  Intervention.  —  Wai 
newed.  —  State  of  the  West.  —  Indian  Diplomacy.  —  Gi 
Measures.  —  A  Perilous  Crisis.  —  Audacity  of  Frontenac 


more 


No  Canadian,  under  the  French  rule,  stands 
conspicuous  or  more  deserved  eminence 
Pierre  Le  Moyne  d'Iberville.     In  the  seventc( 
century,  most  of  those  who  acted  a  prominent 
in  the  colony  were  born  in  Old  France ;  but  I| 
ville  was  a  true  son  of  the  soil.    He  and  his  broil 
Longueuil,  Serigny,   Assigny,   Maricourt,   8ai 
Helene,  the  two  Chateauguays,  and  the  two 
villes,  were,  one  and  all,  children  worthy  of 
father,  Charles  Le  Moyne  of  Montreal,  and  fa 
ble   types   of   that   Canadian   noblesse,   to  w| 
adventurous  hardihood    half    the  continent 
witness.    Iberville  was  trained  in  the  French  nj 
and  was  already  among  its  most  able  commaiK 
The  capture  of  Pemaquid  was,  for  him,  but] 
beginning  of  greater  things  ;   and,  though  th( 
ploits  that  followed  were  outside  the  main  tU 


IBERVILLE  IN  NEWFOUNDLAND. 


389 


action,  they  were  too  remarkable  to  be  passed 
bilence. 
jlhe  French  had  but  one  post  of  any  consequence 

I  the  Island  of  Newfoundland,  the  fort  and  vil- 
at  Placcntia  Bay ;  while  the  Enghsh  fisher- 

II  had  formed  a  line  of  settlements  two  or  three 
bdrcd  miles  along  the  eastern  coast.     Iberville 

represented  to  the  court  the  necessity  of  check- 
; their  growth,  and  to  that  end  a  plan  was  set- 
il,  in  connection  Avith  the  expedition  against 
[iiaquid.  The  ships  of  the  king  were  to  trans- 
thc  men ;  while  Iberville  and  others  associated 
|li  him  were  to  pay  them,  and  divide  the  plun- 
|as  their  compensation.  The  chronicles  of  the 
le  show  various  similar  bargains  between  the 
at  king  and  his  subjects. 

femaquid  was  no  sooner  destroyed,  than  Iber- 

sailed   for   Newfoundland,   with   the   eighty 

he  had  taken  at  Quebec;  and,  on  arriving,  he 

i  joined  by  as  many  more,  sent  him  from  the 

le  place.      He   found    Brouillan,   governor   of 

Jeiitia,  with  a  squadron  formed  largely  of  priva- 

fiom  St.  Malo,  engaged  in  a  vain  attempt  to 

fe  St.   John,    the    chief    post   of   the   English. 

jiiilhui  was  a  man  of  harsh,  jealous,  and  imprac- 

()lo  temper ;  and  it  was  with  the  utmost  difli- 

that  he  and  Iberville  could  act  in  concert. 

Iv  C'^me  at  last  to  an  aj^reement,  made  a  com- 

fl  attack  on  St.  John,  took  it,  and  burned  it  to 

ground.     Then  followed  a  new  dispute  about 

division  of  the  spoils.    At  length  it  was  settled. 

Lan  went  back  to  Placentia,  and  Iberville  and 

aen  were  left  to  pursue  their  conquests  alone. 


y  }\  f 


!  .  I 


I    ; 


■  I    I 


i'.: 


390 


FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH   RIVALRY. 


1 


V!   J 


There  were  no  British  soldiers  on  the  isl 
The  settlers  were  rude    fishermen  without  c 
manders,  and,  according  to  the  French  jicco 
without  religion  or  morals.     In  fact,  they  are 
scribed  as  "  worse  than  Indians."     Iberville 
had  with  him  a  hundred  and  twenty-live  sol 
and  Canadians,  besides  a  few  Abenakis  from 
dia.'    It  was  mid-winter  when  he  began  his  m 
For  two  months  he  led  his  hardy  band  thi 
frost  and  snow,  from  hamlet  to  handet,  alou"- 
forlorn  and  desolate  coasts,  attacking  each  in 
and  carrying  havoc  everywhere.     Nothing 
exceed  the  hardships  of  the  way,  or  the  vigor 
wdiich  they  were  met  and  conquered.     The 
lain  Baudoin  gives   an  example  of   them  i 
diary.      "January  18th.      The  roads  are  soi 
that  we  can  find  only  twelve  men  strong  eii 
to  beat  the  path.     Our  snow-shoes  break  o 
crust,  and  against  the  rocks  and  fallen  trees  h; 
under  the  snow,  which  catch  and  trip  us ;  b 
all  that,  we  cannot  help  laughing  to  see  no 
and  now  another,  fall   headlong.     The  Sie 
Martigny  fell  into  a  river,  and  left  his  gun  a 
sword  there  to  save  his  Kfe." 

A  panic  seized  the  settlers,  many  of  whou: 
without  arms  as  well  as  without  leaders, 
imagined  the  Canadians  to  be  savages,  who  s 
and  butchered  like  the  Iroquois.     Their  resi 
was  feeble  and  incoherent,  and  Iberville  cai 
before  him.   Every  hamlet  was  pillaged  and  b 


1  The  reinforcement  sent  him  from  Quebec  consisted  of  fiftj 
thirty  Canadians,  and  three  officers.    Fronicnac  au  Ministrt,'!)^^ 


'"  tlie  New 
^  the  chap 
'^■  also,  M 
t'Orie,  I.  24- 
'■'■■' ,  presor 
'■"  in  his  h 
than  tile  st 
'It  at  the  a 
"'ii'i.'ibitan 
?tliofhanc 
■'"'11  into  th 
|;f''\'p  them  a 
'"'ill's  was  s( 
'^'i"  was  one 
I*"  eniiiescli.' 
ifS'iie  este'  en 


IBERVILLE  IN  NEWFOUNDLAND. 


391 


|.  according    to    the    incredible    report   of   the 

Inch  writers,  two  hundred  persons  were  killed 

i seven  hundred  captured,  though  it  is  admitted 

|:  most  of  the  prisoners  escaped.     When  spring 

Ineil.  all  the  En^jrlisli  settlements  were  destro^  ed, 

Iptthe  post  of  Bonavistaand  the  Island  of  Car- 

jiiieie,  a  natural  fortress  in  the  sea.     Iberville 

iriied   to   Placentia,  to  prepare  for  completing 

lonquest,  when   his  plans  were  broken   by  the 

hal  of  his  brother  Serigny,  with  orders  to  pro- 

liit  once  against  the  Englisli  at  Hudson's  Bay.* 

was   the   nineteenth   of  May,  when   Serigny 

pred  with  five  ships  of  war,  th^J  ''Pelican,"  the 

Lier,"  the  "  Wesp,"  the  "  Profond,"  and  the 

lilent."     The    important  trading-post  of   Fort 

on,  called  Fort  Bourbon  by  the   French,  was 

|ilestined  object  of  attack.     Iberville  and  Se- 

had  captured  it  three  years  before,  but  the 

[ish  had  retaken  it  during  the  past  summer, 

las  it  commanded  the  fur-trade  of  a  vast  lute- 


in the  Newfoundland  expedition,  the  best  authority  is  the  long 
I  the  chaphiin  Baudoin,  Juunial  du  i'oijdij''  que  j'ai  Jait  arte  M. 
le;  also,  M€moire  snr  V Entreprixe  de  'I'ciroiriivc,  IGUG.  Compare 
erie,  I.  24-52.  A  deposition  of  one  riiillips,  on(?  Roberts,  and  sev- 
trs,  preserved  in  the  Public  Reoi)rd  Ofiice  of  London,  and  quoted 
»n  in  his  Histori/ of  Cape  Breton,  ninkes  the  French  force  much 

urn  tlie  statements  of  tlie  Frencli  writers.  Tlie  deposition  also 
Lit  at  the  attack  of  St.  John's  "the  French  took  one  William 
nn  inhabitant,  a  prisoner,  and  cut  all  round  his  scalp,  and  then, 
figth  of  hands,  stript  his  skin  from  the  forehead  to  the  cnrvn,  and 

bun  into  the  fortifications,  assuring  the  inhabitants  tha    they 
I'frve  them  all  in  like  manner  if  the}'  did  not  surrender." 
John's  was  soon  after  reoccupiod  by  the  English. 
[loin  was  one  of  those  Acadian  priests  who  are  praised  for  ser- 
in enipesehant  les  sauvages  de  faire  la  paix  avec  les  Anglois, 
psine  este  en  guerre  avec  eux."    Champiyny  au  Ministre,  24  Oct., 


^■'■•. 


302 


kim:n(MI  and  r.Nr.Msii  uivamiy. 


X*    ?I1II<1(» 


ic 


V 


rior  r<»u:I()n,  n  slrofvj^  clTorl  wns  now  to  1 
its  r(MM)v<M'y.  Ihci'villc  look  (Mmim;iml  of  ti 
r;ni."  nnd  liis  Im'oIIkm'  of  lli(»  ''  l\ilmi(M'. 
.smIIimI  from  I'lnciMiliii  c.'irly  in  July,  folldwcdj 
two  oilier  slilpM  of  lli(>  s(jn;i(Iron,  nnd  ji  v('ss(»l 
I'vinLT  stores.  l'»('foi(»  llic  r\u\  of  llie  nioiilh 
on<(M'(Ml  (li(*  l».'iy,  wlion*  llicy  were  soon  en 
nniono'  niMsses  of  floMiio'j,'  \vr.  TIk*  slorc-sliii) 
oriisluMl  jnid  losf,  jind  the  rest  were  in  cv 
dnnixer.  TIk^  ''  Pelienn  "  iit  Iiist  extrieiited  Ik 
nnd  sidled  into  tin*  opiMi  sea  ;  hnt  Ikm*  three  coik 
wvvo  nowiuMM^  to  !)(»  S(MMi.  IlxM'ville  steered 
Foi-t  Nelson,  whicdi  was  sovoral  lmndre(l  niil( 
taiif,  on  the  wostiM'n  shore  of  this  dismal  inhiii'] 
ITe  had  nearlv  reaelu^d  it.  when  thr(M»  sail  lioi 
siii^ht  ;  and  lu^  did  not  donhl  that  \\wv  W(M' 
nnssinii;  .hips.     TIk^v  j^rovefl.  howevcM*.  to  he 


lis! 


1   armod    mow 


'hant 


nion 


tl 


le 


a 


II 


nnnsiiii'(» 


fiftv-two  irnns,  and   the '' narinir  "  and   tiio 
son's    Bay"    of    thirtv-six    and    thirtv-two. 
'*  IVlican "    carriod    bnt    fortv-fonr,    jind    nIk 
ilone.     A  dosporato  battle  ft^llowod,  and  froii 
past  iiino  to  one  o'clock   the  cannon.ndo  was 
sant.     Iberville   kept  the  advantage  of  the 
and,  coniin<2;  at  length   to  close  qnarters  wirl 


ii 


II 


vnipsnire 


h 


») 


(r 


five  her  repeated    broadsideBiIi 


twcen  wind  and  water,  with  such  eil'ect  thaHs;  ^n^^]  jj 

sank  with  all  on  board.     lie  next  closed  witl 

"  Hudson's  Bay."  which  soon  struck  her  ilau' 

the  '^  Daring  "  made  sail,  and  escaped.     The 

ican  "  was  badlv  damao'cd  in  hull,  masts,  an 

ging ;  and   the  increasing  fury  of  a  gale  fr 


CAI'TITIIF,   OF   roilT   NKf-SON. 


:;!i.T 


t  in;i<l(»  licr  ])()sili(>!i  inorc  crlicnl  every  lioiir. 
niH'liorcd,  lo  ('S(\'i|)(»  Ikmiil:;  diivciMJsliorc  ;  hut 
i':ilt|('M  |)jirl(Ml,  Mini  sli(»  wns  slrinidcd  .'ihoiil  Iwo 
ii(>s  from  11h»  foi-l.  IIim'c,  racked  hy  lln'  wjivcm 
ilic  lide,  sli(»  s|)lil  jnni(hlii|)s  ;  hiil,  most,  of  lli(» 
,  icmcIkmI  l.'ind  wifli  flicir  \v(»ii|)0!js  jmd  jniimii- 
111.  'V\\v  noi'llicM'ii  winter  lind  ;ili('ji,dy  l)('<^iiii, 
lln'  snow  l.'iy  a  foot  d(M»))  in  llic  forest.  Soino 
Ikmu  died  from  cold  ;ind  e\li;inslion,  nnd  tlio 
liiiilt   lints  nnd   kin<lled    (ires  to  Wiinn  Jind   dry 


l^(MV(^H. 


Food 


w.'is  so  senrec 


'/•i» 


tlijit   tl 


MMi'  on 


y 


of  (vse,;i|)(»  from  fjimislii'i;.^  seemed  to  li(^  in 
<p('r;it(»  effort  to  curry  tlie  fort,  by  storm,  hnt 
t(»itnn(»  in[er|)os(Ml.  TIk^  tln'ee  sliips  tliey  luid 
irliind  in  the  iee  ni'i'ived  with  jdl  the  n(MMl(Ml 
Ins.  M(Mi,  e.'innon,  nnd  mortars  were  sent. 
re,  iiiid  the  Jittack  he<'ini. 
n't  X(dson  WMS  a  ]);disa(h»  work,  i!;,'n'ris()n<'d  })y 
•<  ;nid  otlier  eivihiins  in  the  em|)h)y  of  tlie 
^li  fnr  compnnv,  nnd  oonnriiirKh'd  hv  one  of 
vnts,  mimed  Hjiih\y.  Thon^li  it,  had  a  con- 
bl)le  niim])er  of  sniiill  oininon,  i*^.  was  ineapahle 
Iciiec  as^ainst  any  tliinii;  hnt  musketry;  and 
fivnch  bomhs  soon  made  it  imtenabh).  After 
three  times  summoned,  J*)a,ile3^  lowered  his 
ili()iiu:h  not  till  he  had  obtained  honorable 
;  and  he  and  his  men  inarched  out  with  arms 


beat] 


d  colors  tly 


in<T' 


p;iu'<i:aGre,  (iriiins  heatinfji:  and  colors 

Tville  had  triumphed  over  the  storms,  the 
Irirs,  and  the    Enolish.     The  north   had   seen 

owess,  and  another  fame  awaited  him  in  the 
Ins  of  the  sun ;  for  he  became   the  father  of 


'6di 


FUENCII  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALUY. 


[I'M 


M 


Louisiiiiiii,  and  his  brother  Bienville  founded 
Orlojins.' 

1'liese  northern  conflicts  were  hut  episodes. 
Hudson's    15ay,    Newroinidland,    and    Acadlii. 
issues  of  the  war  were  unimportant,  eoni[);n('(l 
the  uiouientous  question  whether  France  oi- 
hind  should  be  mistress  of  the  west;  that  is  (o 
of  the  whole  interior  of  the  continent.     Tlierol 
a  straiiL^e    contrast    in  the    attitude   of    tlie 
polonies  towards  this  supreme  prize  :   the  ()iio| 
inert, and  seemingly  indifferent;  the  other, iiitc 
active.     The  reason  is  obvious  enough.     Tin; 
lish  colonies  were   separate,  jealous  oi"  the  c 
and  of  each  other,  and  inca[){ible  as  yet  of  iu 
in  concert.     Living  by  agriculture  and  trade, 
could  prosper  within  limited  areas,  and  had  no 
ent  need    of   spreading   beyond    the   Alleglii 
Each  of  them  was  an  aggregate  of  persons,  ])\ 
with  their  own  affairs,  and  giving  little  lici 
matters  which  did  not  immediately  concern  tl 
Their  rulers,  whether  chosen  by  themselves  oj 
pointed    in  England,  could    not   compel  (lii'i 
become   the   instruments  of   enterprises  in 
the  sacrifice  was  present,  and  the  advanl;iij;j 
mote.     The  neij-lect  in  which  the   En<;Tisli 
left   them,  though  wholesome   in   most   resj 
made  them  unfit  for  aggressive  action  ;  Jur 
had   neither  troops,  connnanders,  political  u 
military    organization,   nor    military   liabil 

1  On  the  capture  of  Fort  Nelson,  Idervi'lle  iiu  i}fiuititrp,  8  Xov, 
J4T6ni'\o,  Rdalion  de  la  Baj/e  da  Iliuhon;  La  Potherie,  L  8u-lC 
these  writers  were  present  at  the  attack. 


¥\ 


TIIF.   IlIVAL   COLONIES. 


3U5 


kiiunutios  so  busy,  and  ^ovcnunonts  so  popular, 
[licoiikl  not  Ijo  (lone,  in  war,  till  the*  people  were 
Ul  to  the  necessity  of  duin^jj;  it ;  and  that 
Lolling  was  still  far  distant.  Kven  New  York, 
jonly  exposed  colony,  excej)t  Mussacluisetts  and 
llanipsliire,  I'egarded  the  war  merely  as  a 
linco  to  he  held  at  arm's  length.* 

Ciinada,  all    was   dilieient.      Living    by  the 

I'riide,  she   needed   free   range  and    indefinite 

IFcr  geograi)hical  position  determined  the 

re  of  her  pursuits;  and  her  pursuits  developed 

iving  and  adventurous  character  of  her  [)eople, 

l.livlng  under  a  military  rule,  could  he  directed 

lill  to  such  ends  as  their  rulers  saw  lit.     The 

I'l  French  scheme  of  territorial  extension  was 

Iboin  at  court,  but  sprang  from  Canadian  soil, 

livus  developed  by  the  chiefs  of  the  colony,  who, 

:  on  the  ground,  saw  the  possibilities  and  re- 

iiients  of   the  situation,  and   generally  had  a 

jiial   interest  in  realizing    them.      The    lival 

lies  had  two  different  laws  of  growth.     The 

liiicreased  by  slow  extension,  rooting  firmly  as 

(ii'iul ;  the  other  shot  offshoots,  with  few  or  no 

k  far   out  into   the  wilderness.      It  was  the 

p  of  French   colonization  to  seize  upon  de- 

U  strategic    points,  and    hold    them  by  the 

pt,  forming  no  agricultural  basis,  but  attract- 

lilie  Indians  by  trade,  and  holding  them  by 

lersion.     A  musket,  a  rosary,  and  a  pack  of 

|er  skins  may  serve  to  represent  it,  and  in  fact 

Dsisted  of  little  else. 

^  See  note  at  the  end  of  tlie  chapter. 


t 


.^.lii 


ii 


396 


FRKXCII   AND   ENGLISH  HrVALRY. 


m 


Whence  came  the  niuncrical  weakness  of 
France,  and  the  real  though  latent  stren^'-th  ofj 
rivals  ?     Because,  it  is  answered,  the  French 
not  an  emigrating  people  ;  but,  at  tlie  end  of] 
seventeenth  century,  this  was  only  half  true. 
French  people  were  divided  into  two  parts  I 
eager  to  emigrate,  and  the  other  reluctant. 
one   consisted  of   the  persecuted    Huguenots  I 
other  of  the  favored  Catholics.     The  go  verm 
chose  to  construct  its  colonies,  not  of  tliosol 
wished  to  go,  but  of  those  who  wished  to 
home.     From  the  hour  when  the  edict  of  Nj 
was  revoked,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  Frencl 
would  have  hailed  as  a   boon  the  permissic 
transport  themselves,  their  families,  and  their 
erty  to  the  New  World.    The  j)ermission  was  fiej 
refused,  and  the  persecuted  sect  was  denied 
a  refuo-e  in  the  wilderness.     Had  it  been  <*:n 
them,  the  valleys  of  the  west  would  have  swaj 
with  a  laborious  and  virtuous  population,  tri 
in  adversity,  and  possessing  the  essential  qu£ 
of  self-government.     Another  France  would 
grown  beyond   the  Alleghanies,  strong  Avitl 
same  kind  of  strength  that  made  the  future^ 
ness  of  the  British  colonies.     British  Amerk 
an  asylum  for  the  oppressed  and  the  suiTeri| 
all  creeds  and  nations,  and  population  pourec 
her  by  the  force  of  a  natural  tendency.     Fi 
like  England,  might  have  been  great  in  two 
spheres,  if  she  had  placed  herself  in  accorc 
this  tendency,  instead  of  opposing  it ;  but  dij 
ism  was  consistent  with  itself,  and  a  mighty 
tunity  was  for  ever  lost. 


"tTj^^^ 


lY. 


lie 


:.] 


THE  IROQUOIS   QUESTION. 


397 


ness  of 

L'eiiii;tli  of 
French 

be  end  of  I 

lI!  true. 

kvo  parts,] 

luctiint. 

uguenot.s,! 

le  governi 
of  those  I 

lied  to  si 

diet  of  Xi 
of  Frcnc 
perinissi( 

and  then' 

ion  ^vas  ilej 

as  denied 
been  grs 
have  swa 

Lihition.  td 
ential  quj 
ice  would 
rong  ^vitl 
le  future 
sh  Amerk 
he  sulTor: 
|on  poare( 
ency.     I'l 
[xt  hi  two 
in  accor( 
it ;  but  c 
mighty 


sooi)  could  the  Ethiopian  change  his  skin  as 

Ipriest-ridden  king  change  his  fatal  policy  of 

[ision.     Canada  must  be  bound  to  the  papacy, 

if  it  blasted  her.     The  contest  for  the  Avest 

be  waged  by  the  means  which  Bourbon  policy 

lined,  and    which,  it   must  be   admitted,  had 

great  advantages  of  their  own,  wdien  con- 

il  by  a  man  like  Frontenac.     The  result  hung, 

ae  present,  on  the  relations  of  the  French  Avith 

iroquois  and  the  tribes  of  the  lakes,  the  llli- 

and  the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  but,  above  all,  on 

relations  with  the  Iroquois ;  for,  could  they 

onquered  or  won  over,  it  would  be  easy  to 

I  with  the  rest. 

[ontenac  was  meditating  a  grand  effort  to  in- 
icli  castigation  as  would  bring  them  to  reason, 
one  of  their  chiefs,  named  Tareha,  came  to 
lee  with  overtures  of  peace.  The  Iroquois 
lost  many  of  their  best  w^arriors.  The  arrival 
loops  from  France  had  discouraged  them ;  the 
Ikd  interrupted  their  hunting ;  and,  having 
p  to  barter  wath  the  English,  they  were  in 
|of  arms,  ammunition,  and  all  the  necessaries 
lie.  Moreover,  Father  Milet,  nominally  a 
|ier  among  them,  but  really  an  adopted  chief, 
sed  all  his  influence  to  bring  about  a  peace; 
liie  nussion  of  Tareha  w^as  the  residt.  Fron- 
reccived  him  kindly.  "  My  Iroquois  children 
leen  drunk ;  but  I  will  give  them  an  opportunity 
lent.  Let  each  of  your  five  nations  send  me 
(eputies,  and  I  will  listen  to  what  they  have 
They  a\  ould  not  come,  but  sent  him  in- 


;r"il 


J^^ 


398 


FRENCH   AND  ENGLISH  RIVALTir. 


r 


fl 


stearl  an  invitation  to  meet  them  and  their  frjei 
the  English,  in  a  general  council   at  Albany| 
proposal  which  he  rejected  with  contempt.     Tj 
they  sent  another  deputation,  partly  to  him 
partly  to  their  Christian  countrymen  of  the 
and  the  Mountain,  inviting  all  alike  to  come 
treat  with  them  at  Onondaga.     Frontennc,  ad( 
ing  the  Indian  fashion,  kicked  away  their  waiiii 
belts,  rebuked  them  for  tampering  with  the  mis 
Indians,  and  told  them  that  they  were  rebels,  ])rij 
by  the  English  ;  adding  that,  if  a  suitable  depi 
tion  should  be  sent  to  Quebec  to  treat  squarel^ 
peace,  he  still  would  listen,  but  that,  if  thcj-  a 
back  wdth  any  more  such  proposals  as  they 
just  made,  they  should  be  roasted  alive. 

A  few  weeks  later,  the  deputation  appeared, 
consisted  of  two  chiefs  of  each  nation,  hcarled 
the  renowned  orator  Decanisora,  or,  as  the  Frej 
wrote  the  name,  Tegannisorens.  The  council 
held  in  the  hall  of  the  supreme  council  at  Quel 
The  dignitaries  of  the  colony  w^ere  present, 
priests,  Jesuits,  Recollets,  officers,  and  the  Clirisi 
chiefs  of  the  Saut  and  the  Mountain.  The  app( 
ance  of  the  ambassadors  bespoke  their  destij 
plight ;  for  they  w^ere  all  dressed  m  shabby  d( 
skins  and  old  blankets,  except  Decanisora,  who 
attired  in  a  scarlet  coat  laced  wdth  gold,  given 
by  the  governor  of  New  York.  Golden,  who  ki 
him  in  his  old  age,  describes  him  as  a  tall,  ys 
formed  man,  with  a  face  not  unlike  the  bust 
Cicero.  "  He  spoke,"  says  the  French  repoi 
*^  with  as  perfect  a  grace  as  is  vouchsafed  t( 


DEMANDS   OF  FRONTENAC. 


399 


[ivilized  people ; "  buried  the  hatchet,  covered 

blood  that  had  been  spilled,  opened  the  roads, 

cleared  the  clouds  from  the  sun.  In  other 
[{]<,  he  offered  peace :  but  he  demanded  at  the 
[le  time  that  it  should  include  the  English. 
bteiiac  replied,  in  substance :  "  My  children 
[right  to  come  submissive  and  repentant.  I  am 
^y  to  forgive  the  past,  and  hang  up  the  hatchet ; 

the  peace  must  include  all  my  other  childre  i, 
[and  near.     Shut  your  ears  to  English  poison. 

war  with  the  English  has  nothing  to  do 
!i  you,  and  only  the  great  kings    across  the 

liave  power  to  stop  it.  You  must  give  up 
I  your  prisoners,  both  French  and  Indian,  with- 

one  exception.     I  will  then  return  mine,  and 

peace  with  you,  but  not  before."     He  then 

[ertained  them  at  his  own  table,  gave  them  a 

It  described   as  "  magnificent,"   and    bestowed 

fs  ?o  liberally,  that  the    tattered   ambassadors 

home  in  embroidered  coats,  laced  shirts,  and 

nied  hats.     They  were  pledged  to  return  with 

prisoners  before  the  end  of  the  season,  and 
[v  left  two  hostages  as  security.^ 
lleanwhile,  the  authorities  of  New  York  tried  to 
[vent  the  threatened  peace.  First,  Major  Peter 
liivler  convoked  the  chiefs  at  Albanv,  and  told 
|qi  that,  if  they  went  to  ask  peace  in  Canada,  they 
uld  be  slaves  for  ever.  The  Iroquois  declared 
they   loved   the   English,  but  they  repelled 

J  On  these  negotiations,  and  their  antecedents,  Calli^res,  Relation  de  ce 
west  pass(f  de  plus  reniarquable  en  Canada  depitis  Sept.,  1692,  jusqn'au 
\rtdrs  Vaisseauxenl&dS;  La  Motte-Cadillac,  Mffmolrc  dps  Npgociatinn$ 
lies  Iroquois,  1694 ;  Callieres  au  Ministre,  19  Oct.,  1694 ;  La  Potherie, 
2i)0-'22O:  Golden.  Five  iVa/j'ons.  chap.  x. ;  N-  Y.  Col.  Dors.,  IV.  86 


jr 


■  itiii 


t :, 


400 


FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY. 


■1 ' 

■A' 

I2( 


every    attempt   to   control    their    action.      Th 
Fletcher,   the   governor,   called   a  general   com 
at  the  same  place,  and  told  them  that  thev  shoi 
not  hold  councils  with  the  French,  or  tliat,  if  i 
did  so,  they  should   hold  them  at  Alhany  iu  pi 
ence  of  the   English.     Again  they  asserted   t 
riglits  as  an  independent  people.     "  Corlaer,"  si 
their  speaker,  '^  has  held  councils  with  our  eucMui 
and  why  should  not  we  hold   councils  with  liisi 
Yet  they  w^ere  strong  in  assurances  of  friundsl 
and  declared  themselves  '^  one  head,  one  lieart. 
blood,  and  one   soul,  with  the   Englisli."      Tl 
speaker  continued  :  "  Our  only  reason  for  send^ 
deputies  to  the  French  is  that  we  are  broui^iij 
low,  and  none  of  our  neighbors  help  us,  but  le{ 
us  to  bear  all  the  burden  of  the  war.    Our  brotli 
of   New    England,    Pennsylvania,    Maryland, 
Virginia,  all  of  their  ow^n  accord  took  hold  of 
covenant  chain,  and  called   themselves  our  alli| 
but   they  have  done  nothing  to  help   us,  and 
cannot  fight  the  French  alone,  because  thcv 
always  receiving  soldiers  from  beyond  the  (Ji 
Lake.     Speak  from  your  heart,  brother :  will 
and  your  neighbors  join  with  us,  and  make  sire 
war  against  the  French  ?   If  you  will,  we  will  bri 
off  all  treaties,  and  fight  them  as  hotly  as  ever ; 
if  you  Avill  not  help  ns,  we  must  make  peace." 

Nothing  could  be  more  just  than  these  reproacl 
and,  if  the  English  governor  had  answered  1) 
vigorous  attack  on  the  French  forts  south  ot 
St.  Lawrence,  the   Iroquo's  w^arriors  would 
raised  the  hatchet  airain  with  one  accord. 


-Ofl.j 


ENGLISH   WEAKNESS. 


401 


■etcher  was  busy  with  other  matters;  and  he  had 
Ulos  no  force  at  his  disposal  hut  four  companies, 
[e  only  British  re<^ulars  on  the  continent,  defec- 
k  \\\  numbers,  ill-5i,p[)ointe(l,  and  mutinous.' 
Lrcfore  he  answennl  not  with  acts,  but  with 
Ms.  The  negotiation  with  the  French  went 
,  and  Fletcher  called  another  council.  It  left 
[ii  in  a  worse  position  than  before.  The  Iroquois 
fiiii  asked  for  help  :  he  could  not  promise  it,  but 

forced  to  yield  the  point,  and  tell  them  that  he 
ii<ented  to  their  making  peace  with  Onontio. 
\\\  is  certain  that  they  wanted  peace,  but  equally 
iftain  that  they  did  not  want  it  to  be  lasting,  and 
light  nothing  more  than  a  breathing  time  to  re- 
lin  their  strength.    Even  now  some  of  them  were 

continuing  the  war;  and  at  the  great  council 

Onondaga,  where  the  matter  was  debated,  the 
^ondagas,  Oneidas,  and  Mohawks  spurned  the 
encli  proposals,  and  refused  to  give  np  their 
pliers.  The  Cayugas  and  some  of  the  Senecas 
pof  another  mind,  and  agreed  to  a  partial  cora- 
(ance  with  Frontenac's  demands.     The  rest  seem 

have  stood  passive  in  the  hope  of  gaining  time. 
|Tliey   were   disappointed.     In   vain  the  Seneca 
Cayuga  deputies  buried  the  hatchet  at  Mont- 

,  and  promised  that  the  other  nations  would 
b  do  likewise.  Frontenac  w\as  not  to  be  de- 
lved.    He  would  accept  nothing  but  the  frank 

ilment  of  his  conditions,  refused  the  proffered 

I' Fletcher  is,  however,  clmrged  with  grojs  misconduct  in  regard  to 
Ifoiir  companies,  wliicli  lie  is  said  to  liave  kept  at  about  lialf  their 
pleiiient,  in  order  to  keep  tlxe  bahince  of  tlieir  pay  for  himself. 

26 


,|i^^ 


H' 


T 


402 


FHKNCII    AND   KNCLISII    HIV'AF.UY. 


IIU'II 


11^^ 


Ol 


poaco,  nnd  fold  his  Tndinn  ullics  to  wntj^o  \v;ir 
tlio  kiilfo.  Tlioro  wjis  a  (l<)u;-f(»ast  and  awar-(l;ii 
nnd  <1h»  sfrifi*  l)(\u;{\n  ancnv. 

Ill  all   tlicso  confiMviicos,  llio  Trcxinois  Iki.I  st 
hy  ihoW  Eiin-lish  alliens,  wilh  ;i,  (idclitv  not  loo  \ 
nuM'it(Ml.     ]5nt,  tlioii<i;li  <li(»y  wove  loyal  towards 
Kni:i;Hsli,  tliov  luid  act(Ml  wllli  duplicity  townrds 
French,  and,   while  treatiiisi;  of   peace  with  Ih 
had   attacked   some  of  their  Indian  allies,  juid 
trio;ned    with   others.      Tliey  ])ursn(Ml    with    i 
persistency  than  ever  the  jxdicy  they  had  ad 
in   the  time  of   La  l^arre,  that  is,  to  ])ersiiad 
friij:hten   tlie   trihes   of   the   west   to   ahandoii 
French,  ioiii  hands  with  them  and  the  En<»Tish. 
send  their  fnrs  to  Albany  instead  of  Monln^d: 
the  sagacious  confederates  knew  well  that,  if 
trade   were   turned   into   this   new    channel, 
local    position  Avould    enable    them   to  coiitroi 
Tlic  scheme  was  good  ;  but,  with  whatever  coj 
tency  their  chiefs  and  elders  might  pursue  it 
wayward  ferocity  of  their  3'oung  warriors  ci' 
it   incessantly,  and    murders    alternatcMl    wil 
trigucs.    On  the  other  hand,  the  western  tribes 
since  the  w^ar  had  been  but  ill  supplied  with  Fr| 
goods  and   French  brandy,  knew  that  they 
have    Ensrlish    2:oods    and    Emj-lish  rum    in 
abundance,  and  at  far  less  cost ;  and  thus,  in 
of  hate  and  fear,  the  intrigue  w^ent  on.     Mi 
mackinac  was  the  focus  of  it,  but  it  pervad 
the  west.     The  position  of  Frontenac  was  oj 
great  difficulty,  and  the  more  so  that  the  int 
quarrels  of  his  allies  excessively  complicate 


11i'.')4 


n-on.l 


PKUrLKXITIKR  OF   FIIONTHNAC. 


403 


'[\'X(^   WAV] 
I  \Viir-(l;i1 

lis  ha'l  s 

'   t(>\V!n'<lH 

^  witii  thj 

\llies,  an<l| 

1    Nvith    11 

^  had  ado] 

»   pors\ia(l( 

abandon 

3  Enodish. 

Montroal;! 

ell  that,  it  I 

chann(d, 

to  oinitro] 

latevov  col 

pnvsne  it] 

avrlors  cv( 

atod    \vi<^ 

evn  tvibi^^J 

id  witli  F 

liat  tbey 

linun    in 

thus,  in 

on.     Ml 

pe 

lac  was  o] 

It  the  int 


i/(^^  of    forest,  (llploniacy.      This   hetorou;(Mieon3 

iltii lido,  scat toivd  in  Iriluvs  and  j^roups  of  tribes 

rlwotlionsand  mih'sof  wilderness,  was  like  a  vast. 

tiiii!j:(»rie  of  wild  animals  ;  and   the  lynx  bristled 

\\\r  wolf,  and   Ibe   oanllMn'  ^rirHK'd   fury  at  llie 

[;••,  in  spite  of  all  bis  offorls  to  form  them  into  a 

nv  family  under  bis  paternid  rul(». 

iLii  >b)tte-Cjidillae  eonnnancbMl  at  Micbilliinacki- 

:,  (\)urt(Mnanebe  was  sfaiion(Ml  at  Fort  Miamis, 

I'Tontv  and  La  Foret  at  the  for(i[ie(l  rock  of  St. 

i^  on  the  Illinois;  Avbile  Nicolas  IVrrot  roamed 

iiLi'  Ibe  tri))es  of  the  Mississippi,  strivini^  at  the 

of  bis  lif(>   to  keep  tbem  at  peace  with  each 

k  and  in  alliance  with  the  Frencli.    Yet  a  plot 

11  fly  came  to  li;^bt,  by  which  the  Foxes,  Mas- 

Itiiis.  and    Kickapoos  were    to    join    bands,  re- 

|iiro   the  French,  and  cast   their    fortunes  with 

llroqnois  and  the  English.     There  was  still  more 

py  for  the  tribes  of  Michillimackinac,  because 

i\^ults  of  their  defection   would  be  more  im- 

liato.     This  important  post  had  at  the  time  an 

i:in  population  of  six  or  seven  thousand  sonLs, 

:iiit  mission,  a  fort  with  two  hundred  soldiers, 

a  village  of  about  sixty  houses,  occupied  by 

lers  and  coiireiirs  do,  hols.     The  Indians  of   the 

were  m  relations  more  or  less  close  with  all 

Itribes  of  the  lakes.      The   Huron  village  was 

led  betwe.en  two  rival  chiefs:  the  Baron,  who 

idoep  in  Iroquois  and  English  intrigue  ;  and  the 

who,  though  once   the  worst  enemy  of  the 

|eli,  now  stood  their  friend.     The  Ottawas  and 

Algonquins  of   the    adjacent  villages  were 


It 


404 


FRENCH   AND  EN(iLI^Sll   UIVALUY. 


Iig:» 


■■;  1 


»,( .1 


Hiiva^os  of  n,  lower  gnule,  tossed  coiilimiiillv 
twooii  halivd  of  the  Iroquois,  dislrusl  of  tlio  Fum 
and  love  of  Kuglish  goods  nnd  ]*]n«j!;lisli  rum.' 

La,  I\K,ito-Cadillao  found  lluit  tlu;  Unions  of 
Baron's  hand  wore  rocvjiving  niosscngiM's  mikI  poi 
belts  from   New  York    and  her  red  allies,  (hut 
English  had  promised  to  l)uild  a  trading  honsoj 
L:ike  Erie,  and  ^hat  tlic  Iroquois  had  invited 
lake  tribes  (o  a  grand  eonvention  at  Delroit.   Th 
belts  and  messages  were  sent,  in   the  Indian 
pression,   ''  underground,"   that  is,   secretly  ; 
die   envoys  who   brought  theni  came  in  the 
guise  of  prisoners  taken  by  the  Ilurons.     On 
occasion,  seven  Iroquois  were  brought  in  ;  and  s( 
of  the  French,  suspecting  tliein  to  be  agents  of 
negotiation,  stabbed  two  of  tlicni  as  they  Inia 
There  was  a  great  tumult.    The  Ilurons  ^ook  ai 
to  defend  the  remaining  five ;  but  at  length 
fered  themselves   to  be  appeased,  and  even  d 
one  of  the  Iroquois,  a  chief,  into  the  hands  of 
French,    who,    says   La    Potherie,    determined] 
"  make  an   example  of  him."     They  invited 
Ottawas  to  ''  drink  the  broth  of  r.ii  Iroquois." 
wretch  was  made  fast  to  a  stake,  and  a  Frencln 
began  the  torture  by  burning  liiin  with  a  rod- 
gun-barrel.    The  mob  of  savages  was  soon  wrouj 

'  "Si  les  Outnonacs  (Oltniras)  ot  Hurons  conclueiit  la  paix 
I'Iroquois  sans  nostre  piirticipation,  et  donm'iit  chez  eux  roiitrec  a| 
glois  pour  le  commerce,  la  Colonic  est  onticrement  ruin(fe,  puisqiiej 
le  seul  (moi/en)  par  lequcl  ce  pays-cy  puisse  subsistcr,  ct  I'on  pt'i 
sourer  que  si  les  sauvages  goustcnt  une  fois  du  connnerco  de  TAiii 
ils  ronipront  pour  toujours  avec  les  Fran^'ois,  parccqu'ils  ne  pc( 
donner  los  marchandises  qu'Ji  un  prix  beaucoup  plus  liault."  Fro^ 
au  Ministre,  25  Oct.,  1696. 


JMV 


nAUllAUOUS   POLICY. 


'105 


to   llic    required   pilch  of   ferocity  ;  and,  after 

hicioMsly  torment in«:^  liini,  they  cut  him  to  pieces, 

\\i\\i)  him.'      It  wiis  clenr  Ihiit  the  more  Iro(jiiois 

iillies  of  France  could   he  persuaded   to   hurn, 

loss   would    he    th(^    dnnt^er    that    they    would 

Iko   i)eace   with   the   couiederacy.     On    another 

jjasion,  four  were  tortured  at  once  ;  and  La  Motte- 

lillac  writes,  "  If  any  more  prisoners  are  l)roii<^ht 

1    promise    you    that    their    fate    will    he   no 

leeter.    '' 

|The  same  cruel  measures  were  practised  wlien 
Otlawas  came  to  tnide  at  Montreal.  Fronte- 
ouce  invited  a  hand  of  them  to  "  roast  an  Tro- 
pis."  newly  caught  hy  the  soldiers;  but  as  they 
liiunstrung  him,  to  prevent  his  escjipe,  he  hied 
Idoath  before  the  torture  began.^  In  the  next 
|ing,  the  revolting  tragedy  of  Michillimackinac 
repeated  at  Montreal,  where  four  more  Jro- 
kiswere  burned  by  the  soldiers,  inhabitants,  and 
jian  allies.  "It  was  the  mission  of  Canada," 
h  !i  Canadian  writer,  "  to  propagate  Christianity 
civilization."'* 

pvery  effort  was  vain.    La  Mo tte-Cad iliac  wrote 
matters  grew  worse  and  worse,  and  that  the 


La  Potheric,  II.  298. 

\Ln  Moltr-Cadillac  a  - 


-,  3  Aug.,  1695.   A  translation  of  tliis  letter 


found  in  Sheldon,  A'or/y  I/istori/  of  Michigan. 
Vi'hilion  de  ce  qui  s'est  jiass^  de  plus  rondrquahle  eiitre  les  Franqoia  et  Irs 
Yisdiirnnt  la  pr^sente.  ann&,  1695.     Tliere  is  a  translation  in  A^.  Y, 
iDocs.,  IX.     Compare  La  Potlierie,  who  misplaces  the  incident  as  to 


1) 


|Tliis  last  execution  was  an  act  of  reprisal:  " J'ahandonnay  les  4 
Rulers  aux  soldats,  habitants,  et  sauvagea,  qui  les  bruslcrent  par 
aillcs  de  deux  du  Sault  que  cetto  nation  avoit  traitt^  de  la  mesme 
'     Call  Teres  au  Mini  sire,  20  Oct.,  109G. 


4UG 


FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH   KIV  ALIIY. 


[i*;!.d 


r 


[f 

\\' 
m. 


OttaWi'iH  had  been  made  to  beliovo  that  tlio  Fihik 
neither  would  nor  could  protect  them,  hut  iiioai 
to  leave   them  to   their  fate.     They  thought  (h 
they  had  no  hope  except  in  peace  with  the  Jru<pioj 
and   had   actually  gone   to   meet  them  at  an  oj 
pointed  rendezvous.     One  coarse  alone   was  a( 
left  to  Frontenac,  and  this  was  to  striivc  th.*  U 
quois  with  a  blow  heavy  enough  to  huiublj  iliej 
and   teach   the  wavering   hordes  of  the  we.M    [\ 
he  was,  in  truth,  their  father  and  their  dcftiidj 
Nobody  knew  so  well   as  he   the  dilliculties  of 
attempt;  and,  deceived  perhaps  by  his  own  iiij 
gy,  he  feared  that,  in  his  absence  on  a  distant  cxj 
dition,  the  governor  of  New  York  would  ai 
Montreal.     Therefore,  he    had    begged   fur   mj 
troops.     About  three  hundred  were  sent  him. 
with  these  he  was  forced  to  content  himself. 

He  had  waited,  also,  for  another  reason.     In! 
belief,    the    re-establishment   of    Fort   Fruute 
abandoned   in  a  panic   by  Denonville,  was  iio( 
sary  to  the  success  of  a  campaign  against  the 
quois.     A  party  in  the  colony  vehemently  opp 
the  measure,  on  the  ground  that  the  fort  woiih 
used    by  the  friends   of   Frontenac   for   pui'[)^ 
of  trade.     It  was,  nevertheless,  very  importaii 
not  essential,  for  holding  the  Iroquois  in  clij 
They  themselves  felt  it  to  be  so ;  and,  when 
heard  that  the  French  intended  to  occupy  it  a^ 
they  appealed  to  the  governor  of  New  York 
told  them  that,  if  the  plan  Avcre  carried  into  e 
he  would  march  to  their  aid  with  all  the  powi 


AUDACITY   OF   FKONTKNAC. 


407 


<:joverniiKMi(.     lie  did  not,  and  jjorhaps  cuidd 

keep  his  word.' 

I  In  the  question  of  Fort  Frontenac,  as  in  every 

ling  else,  the  opposition  to  the  governor,  alwjiys 

,<y  and  vehement,  found  its  ehief  representative 

the   intendant,  wlio  told    the  minister   that   the 

licy  of  Frontenae  was  all  wrong  j  that  the  public 

A  was  not  its  objeet ;  that  he  disobeyed  or  evaded 

ders  of  the  kinu: ;  and  that  he  had  sulfered  the 


le  01 


'n  J 


Hjuois  to  delude  him  by  false  overtures  of  i)eaee. 

fce  representations  of  the  intendant  and  his  fac- 

lii  had   sueh   elTeet,  that  Ponchartrain  wrote   to 

liovernor  that  the  idan  of  re-establish in«;-  Fort 

Diitenac  ^'  must  absolutely  be  abandoned."    Fron- 


IllC. 


bent 


on    aceom 


plisl 


nn<i 


us 


purp 


ose 


md 


jjy  so  because  his  enemies  oi)posed  it,  had  an- 

lipiited  the  orders  of  the  minister,  and  sent  seven 

idled  men  to  Lake  Ontario  to  repair  the  fort. 

le  (lay  after  they  left  Montreal,  the  letter  of  Pon- 

lirtiain  arrived.     The  intendant  demanded  their 

ill.  Fiontenac  refused.  The  fort  was  repaired, 
[risoned,  and  victualled  for  a  year. 

successful  campaign  was  now  doubly  necessary 
Itlio  governor,  for  by  this  alone  could  he  hope  to 
fit  the  consequences  of  his  audacit^^ .  He  waited 
jlonger,  but  mustered  troops,  militia,  and  Indians, 

marched  to  attack  the  Iroquois." 

Coliien,  178.     Fletcher  could  get  no  men  from  his  own  or  neighhor- 
KDViriiments.     See  notp,  at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 
[Tilt'  above  is  drawn  from  the  correspondence  of  Frontenac,  Cham- 
La  iMotte-Cadillac,  and  Callieres,  on  one  hand,  and  the  king  and 
Jiiiiister  on  the  other.    The  letters  are  loo  niuneroiis  to  sjjecify.    Also, 
nlio  official  Relation  d^ce  qui  s'est  passe  de  plus  remarquable  on  Canada^ 
lU'Jo,  and  Ibid.,  1695,  i696;  Memoire  soumis  au  Ministre  de  ce  qui  r^ 


■  i    I 


:■( 


ll'.    I 


■  tw 


WM 


408 


FRKNCII   AND  ENGLISH   UIVALUY 


IH 


li 


I- 


!f  t-  : 


,^1 


MiMTAUY    InKFFICIKNCY  OF  THK    iJllITISlI  Coi.ONIKfl.  _- »» 

Majesty  has  Hiilijocts  enouijh  in  those  parts  of  America  to  di 
out  the  rifiich   t'roiii  C.'inachi;  ])nt  they  arc  so  rritmhli'd  inln  li 
(forcniwrnfs,* niu\  so  disunited,  that  they  have  hitherto  nffdrdnlj 
tlo  assistance  to  each  other,  and  now  seem  in  a  unieli  worsf  dii 
sition  to  do  it  for  tlie  futur*'."     This  is  the  complaint  of  the  l.c 
of  Tr:i(h'.     (Jovornor  Fh-tcher  writes  hitterly  :  "  Here  every  lil 
^(ovennnent  sets  up  for  despotic  ])ower,  and  allows  no  appeaf 
the  Crown,  but,  by  a  little  ju;,'j^din;^',  «U'feats  all  connimnds  ;iii(i| 
junctions  from  the  Kin;^."     Fletdier's  complaint  was  not  nwi 
yoked.     The  Queen   had   named  him  commander-in  chief,  dui 
tho  ^var,  of  the  militia  of  several   of  the  colonies,  and  empowf 
him  to  call  on  them  for  contingents  of  men,  not  above  ;).')!)  ti 
Massachusetts,  'J.'K)  from  Vir<,'inia,  100  from   Maryland,  I'JO  t\ 
Connecticut,  48  from   Rhode   Island,  and  80  from   IVnnsylvi 
This  measure  excited  the  jealousy  of  the  colonies,  and  sfvcra 
them  remonstrated  on  constitutional  grounds;  but  the  attDrJ 
general,   to  whom  tho  question  was  referred,  reported  tliiitj 
crown  had  power,  under  certain  limitations,  to  appoint  a 
mander-in-chief.     Fletcher,  therefore,   in   his  character  as  s^ 
called  for  a  portion  of  the  men;  but  scarcely  one  could  lie 
He  was  met  by  excuses  and  evasions,  which,  especially  in  tlu? 
of  Connecticut,  were  of  a  most  vexatious  character.     At  last, 
colony,  tired  by  his  importimities,  condescended  to  furni.sh  him 
twenty-five  men.     With  the  others,  he  was  less  fortunate,  th<i 
Virginia  and  Maryland  compounded  with  a  sum  of  money, 
colony  claimed  the  control  of  its  own  militia,  and  was  anxioi 
avoid  the  establishment  of  any  precedent  which  might  doprivol 
the  right.     Even  in  the  military  management  of  each  separate 
ony,  there  was  scarcely  less  difficulty.     A  requisition  for  ti 
from  a  lOyal  governor  was  always  regarded  with  jealousy,  aud 
provincial  assemblies  were  slow  to  grant  money  for  their  siipj 
In   1092,  when   Fletcher  came  to  New  York,  the  asseniblyj 
him  300  men,  for  a  year;  in  10913,  they  gave  him  an  equal  nui 
in  1094,  they  allowed  him  but  170,  he  being  accused,  api>arJ 
with  truth,  of  not  having  made  good  use  of  the  former  levies.! 
afterwards  asked  that  the  force  at  his  disposal  should  be  iucr^ 
to  500  men,  to  guard  the  frontier;  and  the  request  was  not  gra 
In  1697  he  was  recalled;    and  the  Earl  of  Bellomont  was  coi 


suite,  des  Avis  regus  dxi  Canada  en  1695;  Champigny,  iV/^/Ho/re  coni 
le  Fort  de  Cataracouy;  La  Pother ie,  II.  284-302  IV.  1-80;  Coldcn,! 
X.,  xi. 


MILITARY   INKFFICIENCY. 


409 


^,.(1  f»ovornor  of  Xow  York.  ^Massachnsotta,  and  Now  Tlampsliire, 
jfaptain-j^cncral,  duriii};  the  war,  of  all  the  forces  of  those  col- 
5,  as  well  us  of  Comuc^ticiit,  llliodo  Island,  and  Ni'\v  .n  iscy. 

cidsc  of  the  war  (]nickly  ended  this  inilitaiy  authority;  hut 
L  is  no  reason  to  heUeve  that,  had  it  eontinncd.  tlie  cairs  re- 
^tions  for  men,  in  his  character  of  captain-general,  would  havo 
more  success  than  those  of  l-Metelur.  The  wliole  alTair  is  a 
pi,'  ilhistration  of  the  ori^^inal  isolation  of  conjuiunities,  wliich 
I'uards  hecanic  wehh;d  into  a  nation.  It  involved  a  military 
liysis  almost  complete.  Sixty  years  lat<T.  tmder  the  sense  of  a 
It  (iaiij^'er,  the  British  colonies  were  ready  enough  to  receive  a 
|sKiiider-in-(diief,  and  answer  his  requisitions. 

jrreat  number  of  documents  hcarinj?  upon  tho  above  subject 
Ibe  found  in  the  New  York  Colonial  Documents,  JV 


Memoir e  coud 


I'Si 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


1G96-1G98. 


I: 
if.il 


if 


FRONTENAC  ATTACKS  THE  ONONDAGA S. 

Makch    of  Froxtenac.  —  Flight   or   thk   Emoiv.  —  Ax   Iwoqi 
Stoic.  —  Kl-likf  for  tiik  Onondagas. — Boasts  of  FitosTK^ 
—  His    Complaints.  —  His    ENi;:\m:s. — P,»"itii:s    in    CanadJ 
ViKws  OF  Fkontenag  and  the  King.  —  Fuontknac  im;i;vaii 
Peaci:  of  liYiiwicic. --7j^I!Ontknac  and  Bei.lomont.  —  Sciir 
AT  QuEUEC.  —  Festivities.  —  A  Last  Defiance, 

On  the  foui'tli  of  July,  Froiitcnac  loft  Moiitn 
at  the  head  of  about  twenty-two  hundred  mj 
On  the  nhieteentli  he  reached  Fort  Front.'iiuc. 
on  the  twenty-sixth  he  cro.ssed  to  the  .southern  shj 
of  Lake  Ontario.  A  swarm  of  Indian  canoes 
the  way;  next  followed  two  battalions  of  legult 
hi  bateaux,  commanded  by  Callieres;  then  mj 
bateaux,  laden  with  camion,  mortars,  and  roik 
then  Frontenac  himself,  surrounded  by  the  c;in 
of  his  staff  and  his  guard  ;  then  eight  hinidj 
Canadians,  under  Eamesay  ;  while  more  rcgul 
and  more  Indians,  all  commanded  by  Vaiidi 
brought  up  the  rear.  In  two  days  they  read 
the  mouth  of  the  Oswego  ;  strong  scouting-piu'j 
were  sent  out  to  scour  the  forests  in  front ;  w 
the  expedition  slowly  and  painfully  worked  its 
up  the  stream.     Most  of  the  troops  and  Cuniidil 


6] 


MARCH  OF  FllONTENAC. 


411 


NONDAGAS. 

Inemy.  —  An   Ii;<)Qt 

iOASTS  or  FltoNTld 
,»"sTIKS  IN  CaNADjI 
UONTKXAO  l'l:i;VAll 

i:i,LOMONT.  —  Scinn 
lANCii:.' 

ac  left  Munti'* 
o   Iiundrod  m| 
t  Froiiteiiiic, 
10  boutlicni  ^li| 
uliiui  ciinoL's 
lioDS  ol"  rogiilf 
ores ',  llieii  mj 
irs,  and  rocki 
d  by  the  c:iu] 
li  ei«j:lit  liuudf 
1(3  more  regul 
id  by  Valid  1' 
[lys  they  reac| 
.scouting-pai'l 
in  front;  w 
l^  worked  its 
)s  and  Caiiiidii 


iirclied  through  the  matted  woods  along  the 
Inks ;  while  the  bateaux  and  canoes  were  pushed, 
Ined,  paddled,  or  dragged  forward  against  the 
Irreiit.  On  the  eveninii;  of  the  thii'tieth,  tliev 
[iclied  the  falls,  where  the  river  plunged  over 
jiu^cs  of  rock  whicl:  completely  stopped  the  way, 
work  of  -^  carrying"  was  begun  at  once.  The 
llians  and  Canadians  carried  the  canoes  to  the 
Ivii'able  water  above,  and  ":an<j:s  of  men  drairii,'ed 
I  bateaux  up  the  portage-path  on  rollers.  Night 
1)11  cauie,  and   the  work  was  continued  till  ten 

lock  by  torchlight.  Frontenac  would  have 
t<od  on  foot  like  the  rest,  but  the  Indians  would 
It  have  it  so.  They  lifted  him  in  his  canoe  upon 
I'll'  shoulders,  and  bore  him  in  triutnph,  singing 

yelling,  through  the  forest  and  along  the  margin 
Itlie  rapids,  the  blaze  of  the  torches  lighting  the 
fiiiige  procession,  where  plumes  of  ollicers  and 
lil'oruis  of  the  g:overnor's  ii:uard  min<ji:led  with  the 
|iliers  and  scalp-locks  of  naked  savages. 
|lVhon  the  falls  were  passed,  tlie  troops  pushed 
las  before  along  the  narrow^  stream,  and  through 

tangled  labyrinths  on  eitlier  side ;  till,  on  the 
K  of  August;  they  reached  Lake  Onondaga,  and, 
till  sails  set,  the  whole  flotilla  glided  before  the 

111,  and  landed  the  motley  army  on  a  rising 
mild  half  a  league  from  the  salt  springs  of  Salina. 
te  next  day  was  spent  in  building  a  fort  to  pro- 
It  the  canoes,  bateaux,  and  stores ;  and,  as 
leniiig  closed,  a  ruddy  glow  above  the  southern 
|rest  told  them  that  the  town  of  Onondaga  was 

lire. 


412    FRONTENAC  ATTACKS  THE  ONONDAGAS. 


liii: 
if  ■] 


The  Marquis  de  Crisasy  was  left,  with  a  dcti 
ment,  to  hold    the  fort ;    and,  at  sunrise  on 
fourth,  the  army  moved  forward  in  order  of  baj 
It  was  formed  in  two  lines,  regulars  on  the  rj 
and  left,  and  Canadians  in  the  centre.     Callil 
commanded  the  first  line,  and  Vaudreuil  the  sc'(!( 
Frontenac  was  between  them,  surrounded   ])v| 
sta^  officers  and  his  guard,  and  followed  hy 
artillery,  w^hich  relays  of  Canadians  dragged 
lifted  forward  with  inconceivable  labor.     The 
ernor,  enfeebled  by  age,  was  carried  in  an  arm-c] 
while  Callieres,  disabled  b;;'  gout,  v»\as  mountet 
a  horse,  brought  for  the  purpose  in  one  of  the  I 
teaux.    To  Subercase  fell  the  hard  task  of  direcl 
the  march  among  the  dense  columns  of  the  primj 
forest,  by  hill  and  hollow,  over  rocks  and  h 
trees,  through  swamps,  brooks,  and  gullies,  an 
thickets,  brambles,  and  vines.     It  was  but  eigl 
nine  miles  to  Onondaga ;  but  they  were  all  dj 
reaching   it,   and    evening   was    near  when 
emerged  from  the  shadows  of  the  forest  into] 
broad  light  of  the  Indian  clearing.     The  mi 
fields  stretched  before  them  for  miles,  and  in 
midst  lay  the  charred  and  smoking  ruins  of 
Iroquois  capital.     Not  an  enemy  was  to  be 
but  they  found  the  dead  bodies  of  two  murdj 
French  prisoners.     Scouts  were  sent  out,  g\ 
were  set,  and  the  disappointed  troops  encampc 
the  maize- fields. 

Onondaga,  formerly  an    open   town,  had 
fortified  by  the  English,  who  had  enclosed  it 
a  double  range  of  strong  palisades,  forming  a 


THE  ONEIDAS  BEG  FOR  PEACE. 


413 


le.  flanked  by  bastions  at  the  four  corners,  and 

imded  by  an  outer  fence  of  tall  poles.     The 

was  not  defensible  against  cannon  and  mor- 

and  the  four  hundred  warriors  belons-ino;  to 

(1  been  but  slightly  reinforced  from  the  other 

]  of  the  confederacy,  each  of  which  feared 

the  French  attack  might  be  directed  against 

,    On  the  approach  of  an  enemy  of  five  times 

number,  they  had  burned  their  town,  and 

ated  southward  into  distant  forests. 

e  troops  were  busied  for  two  days  in  hacking 

the  maize,  digging  up  the  caches,  or  Iiidden 

s  of  food,  and  destroying  their  contents.     The 

liboring  tribe  of  the  Oneidas  sent  a  messenger 

f  peace.     Frontenac  replied  that  he  would 

it,  on  condition  that  they  all  should  migrate  to 

(la,  and  settle  there  ;  and  Vaudreuil,  with  seven 

ed  men,  was  sent  to  enforce  the  demand.  Mean- 

a  few  Onondaga  stragglers  had  been  found ; 

|miong  them,  hidden  in  a  hollow  tree,  a  withered 

or,  eighty  years  old,  and  nearly  blind.     Fron- 

would  have  spared  him ;  but  the  Indian  allies, 

tians  from  the  mission  villao;es,  were  so  eairer 

iirn  him  that  it  was  thought  inexpedient  to 

3  them.     They  tied  him  to  the  stake,  and  tried 

ake  his  constancy  by  every  torture  that  fire 

inflict ;  but  not  a  cry  nor  a  murmur  escaped 

He  defied  them  to  do  their  worst,  till,  en- 

at  his  taunts,  one  of  them  gave  him  a  mortal 

"  I  thank  you,"  said  the  old  Stoic,  with  his 

reath ;  "  but  you  ought  to  have  finished  as 

began,  and  killed  me  by  fire.     Learn  from  me, 


">  ,('i,|tiii!' 


414    FRONTENAC  ATTACKS  THE  ONONDAP.AS. 


M  i  ! 


it 


you  dogs  of  Frenchmen,  how  to  endure  pnin  • 
you,  (logs  of  clogs,»their  Indian  allies,  tliink 
you  will  do  when  you  are  burned  like  me."  *| 

Vaudreuil  and  his  detachment  returned  wi 
three  daj^s,  after  destroying  Oneida,  with  all  I 
growing  corn,  and  seizing  a  number  of  cliiej 
hostages  for  the  fulfdment  of  the  deiiiaiidl 
Frontenac.  There  was  some  thought  of  niarcj 
on  Cayuga,  but  the  governor  judged  it  to  l)j 
expedient ;  and,  as  it  would  be  useless  to  chas( 
fugitive  Onondagas,  nothhig  remained  but  U 
turn  home.^ 

While.  Frontenac  was  on  his  march,  Gov 

1  Relation  de  ce  qni  s'est  pass^,  etc.,  1695,  1696  ;  La  Potlicric,  I] 
Callil'rcs  and  the  author  of  the  delation  of  1682-1712  also  speak  i 
extrnordinary  fortitude  of  the  victim.     The  Jesuits  gay  that  it 
the  Christian   Indians   who  insisted  on  burnings  him,  hut  the 
themselves,  "  qui  voulurent  absolunient  qu'il  filt  brule  h,  jxtit 
qu'ils  oxecutercnt  eux-memes.     Un  Jesuite  le  eonfessa  et  I'assislj 
mort,  I'encouraf^eant  h  souffrir  courai^eusemcnt  et  clr^tirnnntirnf  U 
mens."     Relation  de  16'JO  (Shea),  10.     This  writer  raids  tliat,  wliei 
tcnac  lieard  of  it,  he  ordered  him  to  be   spared  ;  but  it  was  u 
Cliarlevoix  misquotes  the  old  Stoic's  last  Avords,  which  wore,  ao(] 
to  the  oflicial  Kelation  of  1095-6:  "  Je  to  remercie  niais  tu  aim 
do  achevcr  de  me  faire  mourir  par  le  fou.     Apprenez,  chiens  dl-  Fi 
k  souffrir,  et  vous  sauvages  leurs  allies,  qui  etes  les  chions  dos 
souvencz  vous  de  ce  que  vous  devez  faire  quand  vous  sercz  en| 
e'tat  que  moi." 

-  On  the  expedition  against  the  Onondagas,  Callierea  nu  Minl^ 
Oct.,  1090;  Frontenac  an  Ministre,  25  Oct,,  1690;  Frontenac  et  C/u 
an  Miiiistre  {lettre  coninanir)  20  Oct.,  1696;  Relation  de  ce  (jni  s'e.^t  ji'ii 
1095,1696;  /iV/f^/ZoH,  1682-1712  ;  Relation  des  Jcsnite.'^,  1090  (Slieal 
Hist.  N.  Y.,  I.  323-355;  La  Totherie,  III.  270-282;  N.  Y.  0>l\ 
IV.  242. 

Charlevoix  charges  Erontcnac  on  this  occasion  with  failing  to 
his  advantage,  lest  others,  and  especially  Callieres,   should  i;t 
lienor  than   he.      The  accusation   scenis   absolutely  groundlosi 
many  enemies  were  silent  about  it  at  the  time ;  for  the  king 
commends  his  conduct  on  the  expedition,  and  Callieres  himself, 
immediately  after,  gives  him  nothing  but  praise. 


i-,»mMSm 


DAOAS. 

ire  pain  ; 
i?,  think 
ike  me.    1 
hinicd  wil 
L,  Avith  all 
;r  of  cliie| 
i   (leniaiifll 
it  of  marcl 
id  it  to  h\ 
ss  to  clia- 
ed  but  i< 

ircli.  Gov 

La  Potlieric,  11 

712  iilso  speak  I 

s  gay  that  it 

)um,  but  till" 

bnile   a  lutil 

c'ssa  et  I'ri'sis^ 

]  r(ft!nwnn''nt  U 

ubls  that,  wliei 

l)ut  it  was  U 

Ivhich  were,  ao(| 

e  nuiis  tu  aura 

>z,  chien?<Tl'  Yt 

s  cliions  lies 

vous  serez  eni 

iJlieren  nn  Min^ 
iroJitennc  et  Chi 
vi  cp  (jiii  s'c'St  /)! 
"s,  1G90  (Slieal 
|2  ;  N.  Y.  Co/ i 

nth  faihiig  to 
3S,  should 
|ly  groundle^ 
[or  the  kins 
ire8  himself, 


BOASTS  OF  FRONTEKAC. 


415 


lolior  had  heard  of  his  approach,  and  called  the 
[iicil  at  New  York  to  consider  what  should  be 
y.    They  resolved  that  "  it  will  be  very  griev- 
;  to  take  the  people  from  their  labour  ;  and  there 
ikewise  no  money  to  answer  the  charge  thereof." 
I'lov  was,  however,  advanced  bv  Colonel   Cort- 
It  and  others ;  and  the  governor  wTote  to  Con- 
[tlcut  and  New  Jersey  for  their  contingents  of 
;  but  they  thought  the  matter  no  concern  of 
Irs.  and  did    not  respond.      Fletcher  w^ent  to 
laiiv  with  the  few  men  he  could  ^rather  at  the 
Eiient,  and  heard  on  his  arrival  that  the  French 
|e  j^^one.     Then  he  convoked  the  chiefs,  condoled 
|i  them,  and  made  them  presents.     Corn  was 
I  to  the   Onondagas    and  Oneidas  to   support 
through  the  winter,  and  prevent  the  famine 
ell  the  French  hoped  Avould   prove   their  de- 
letion. 

fhat  Frontenac  feared  had  come  to  pass.  The 
tiiv  had  saved  themselves  by  flight ;  and  his  ex- 
[tion,  like  that  of  Denonville,  was  but  half  suc- 
iiil.  He  took  care,  how^ever,  to  announce  it  to 
king  as  a  triumph. 

jSlre,  the  benedictions  wdiich  Heaven  has  ever 
reied  upon  your  Majesty's  arms  have  extended 
to  this  New  World ;  whereof  we  have  had 
lie  proof  in  the  expedition  I  have  just  made 
list  the  Onondagas,  the  principal  nation  of  the 
liiois.  I  had  long  projected  this  enterprise,  but 
jdifficulties  and  risks  which  attended  it  made 
[egard  it  as  imprudent ;  and  I  should  never  have 
Ived  to  undertake  it,  if  I  had  not  last  year  es- 


^1 
',  'i 

'        It 


I 


iSliii: 


416        FRONTENAC  ATTACKS  THE  ONONDAGAvS. 


tablislicd    an    entrejoot    {Fort    Frontcnac),   w 
inado  iny  communications  more  easy,  jmd  if  I 
not  known,  beyond  all  doubt,  that  this  was  ui 
lutely  the  only  means  to  prevent  our  allies  f| 
making  peace  Avitli  the   Iroc^uois,  and  indoihu 
the  English  into  their  country,  by  which  the 
ny  would  infallibly  be  ruined.     Nevertheless, 
unexpected  good  fortune,  the  Onondagas,  who 
for  masters  of  the  other  Iroquois,  and  the  terrc 
all  the  Indians  of  this  country,  fell  into  a  soi 
bewilderment,  which  could  only  have  come 
on  High ;  and  were  so  terrified  to  see  me  mi 
against  them  in  person,  juid  cover  their  lakes 
rivers  with  nearly  four  hundred  sail,  that,  witl 
availing   themselves  of   passes  where   a  luiii^ 
men  might  easily  hold   four  thousand  in  c 
they  did  not  dare  to  lay  a  single  ambuscade, 
after  w\aiting  till  1  was  five  leagues  from  tlieir 
they  set  it  on  fire  with  all  their  dwellings,  and 
with  tlieir  families,  twenty  leagues  into  the  (]< 
of  the  forest.     It  could  have  been  wished,  to 
the  affair  more  brilliant,  that  they  had  tiioj 
hold  their  fort  against  ns,  for  we  were  prepare 
force  it  and  kill  a  great  many  of  them ;  but 
ruin  is  not  the  less  sure,  because  the  fainii 
which  they  are  reduced,  will  destroy  more  tluij 
conld  have  killed  by  sword  and  gun. 

"  All  the  officers  and  men  have  done  their 
admirably ;  and  especially  M.  de  Callieres,  wh( 
been  a  great  help  to  me.     I  know  not  if  your 
esty  will  think  that  I  have  tried  to  do  miiiej 
will  hold  me  worthy  of  some  mark  of  honor] 


COMPLAINTS  OF  FRONTENAC. 


•117 


ir  ('iial)le  nic  to  pass  the  short  reinaindor  of  ]ny 

ill  some  little  distinction;  but,  wlK;tlier  this  ho 

lor  not,  I  most  hnmhly  })ray  3'oiir  Majesty  to  ])o- 

jv  tliat   1  ^^ill    sacrifice  the  rest  of  my  days  to 

ir  Majesty's  service  with  the  same  ardor  I   have 

iiys  felt/' ' 

flic  kin<!;  hi<^]dy  commended  liim,  and  sent  him 
[cross  of  the  Military  Order  of  St.  Louis.     Cal- 
les,  who  had   dc.>erved   it  less,  had   received   it 
leral  years  before  ;  but  he  had  not  found  or  pro- 
Id  so  many  defamers.     Frontenac  com])lained 
lie  minister  that  his  services  had  been  slightlj- 
tiirdily  reciuited.     This  was  trne,  and  it  was 
largely  to   the  complaints  excited  by  his  own 
M'sity  and   violence.      These   complaints  still 
jfimied  ;  but  the  fault  was  not  all  on  one  side, 
IVontenac  himself  luid   often  just  reason   to 
rt  ihem.     Tie  wrote  to  Ponchartrain :  "If  you 
|n()t  be  so  good  as  to  look  closely  into  the  true 
of  things  here,  I  shall  always  be  exposed  to 
[act ion,    and    forced    to   make    new    apologies, 
111  is  very  haixl  for  a  person  so  full  of  zeal  and 
liflitness  as  I  am.     My  secretary,  who  is  going 
jriuice,  will  tell  y-ou  all  the  ugly  intrigues  used 
feat  my  plans  for  the  service  of  the  king,  and 
growth  of  the  colony.     I  have  long  tried  to 
[);it   these  artifices,  but   I   confess    that  I  no 
er  feel  strength  to  resist  them,  and  must  suc- 
at  last,  if  you  will  not  have  the  goodness  to 
|me  strong  support."  ^ 

1  Frontenac  an  Roy,  25  Oct.,  1696. 
-  Frontenac  au  Mmistre,  25  Oct.,  lt>'.)G. 

27 


Up  I 


418       FRONTKNAn    ATTACKS   TFIK   ONONDAGAS.     \\r,^ 

Tie  still  roiitinnod  to  provoke  tlio  jlcfnictl 
which  ho  (lopn^ojitcd,  till  ho  drow.  at  hist,  u  <\n 
I'omoiistrMnoe  from  tho  rninistor.  "The  disiJ 
yon  have  had  with  M.  do  Chainpii^ny  is  \vilh< 
oanso,  and  T  confess  1  cannot  C()ni])reliond 
yon  could  have  acted  as  j'ou  have  done.  If 
do  thint^s  of  this  sort,  yon  must  expect  disntrrco 
consequences,  which  all  the  desire  T  have  to  ohi 
you  cannot  prevert.  It  h  de])lorahle,  holli 
vou  and  for  me,  that,  instead  of  \m\vj  mv  irood- 
to  ^^ain  favors  from  his  Majesty,  you  compel  iiu 
make  excuses  for  a  violence  which  answers 
purpose,  and  in  wlr'ch  you  indulge  wantonly, 
hody  can  t'dl  wliy."  ' 

Most  of  these  quarrels-   however  trivial  in  th 
selves,  had    a  solid    foundation,  and   were  clu 
connected  wnth  the  great  question  of  the  con 
of  the  west.     As  to  the  measures  to  be  taken, 
parties  divided  the  colony ;  one  consisting  of 
governor  and  his  friends,  and  the  other  of  tli( 
tendant,  the  Jesuits,  and  such  of  the  mercliani 
were  not  in  favor  with  Frontenac.     His  policy  I 
to  protect  the  Indian  allies  at  all  r^'sks,  to  repej 
force,  if  necessar3^  every  attempt  of  the  Englii 
encroach  on  the  territory  in  dispute,  and  ^o  ocj 
it  by  forts  which  should  be  at  once   posts  of [ 
and  commerce  and  place?  of  rendezvous  for  in 
and   voyageiirs.      Champigny  and    his   partv 
nounced  this  system  ;  urged  that  the  forest 
should   be   abandoned,    that   both    garrisons 
traders  should  be  recalled^  that  the  French  si 

'  fje  Ministre  a  Frontenac,  21  Mai,  1698. 


:  ■\\  t: 


(ACAS.    [\m 


-08.] 


PAHTIKS   IN   CANADA. 


419 


It 'io  to  llio  Tndinns,  hut.  that  tlio  Tiidlans  should 
oic  fo  tlic  P^'onc'h,  tliiit,  the  fnr  trndo  of  the  inte- 
Irslioidd  ho  rMrri(Ml  on  nt  Montreal,  and  that  no 
piichninn  should  he  jdlowed  to  leave  the  settled 
liits  of  the  eolony,  except  the  Jesuits  and  persons 
their  servic(»,  who,  as  Chninpigiiy  insisted,  vvoidd 
a')le  to  keep  the  Indians  in  the  P'rench  interest 
[liout  the  help  of  soldiers. 

ftrong   personal  interests  were  active  on  hoth 

sand  gave  hittei'ness  to  the  strife.    Frontennc, 

lonhvnys  stood  hy  his  iViends,  had  placed  Tonty, 

I  Fore t,  La  Motte-Cnd  iliac,  and  others  of  their 

ihcr,  in  charge  of  the  forest  posts,  where  they 

!o  good  profit  hy  trade.    Moreover,  the  licenses 

Itriding  expeditions  inio  the  interior  were  now, 

lefore,  used  largely  for  the  henefit  of  his  favor- 

The  Jesuits   also   declared,   and   with   some 

|L.  that  the   forest  posts  were   centres   of  de- 

Ich'^ry,  and   that  tlie  licenses  for  the  western 

|e  were  the  ruin  of  innnmerahle  young  men. 

1  these  reasons  were  laid   before  the  king.     In 

Frontenac  represented  that  to  abandon  the 
hi  posts  would  be  to  resign  to  the  English  the 
le  of  the  interior  country,  and  at  last  the  coun- 

itself.  The  royal  ear  was  open  to  his  oppo- 
k  and  the  royal  instincts  reinforced  their 
Uents.     The    king,  enamoured   of  subordina- 

and  order,  wished  to  govern  Canada   as  he 
bned  a  province  of  France ;  and  this  could  be 

only  by  keeping  the  population  within  pre- 

y   bounds.     Therefore,   he   commanded   that 
Hises  for  the  forest  trade  should  cease,  that  the 


4iiO      FUONTENAC   ATTACKS   THE   ONONDAGAS.    [1(V,« 

forest  posts  should  ho  ahandoiKMl  iind  dostroyj 
that  all  FrciKshnieii  should  he  ordeivd  hack  to 
settleiiKMits,  and  that  none  should  return  uiu 
pain  of  the  galleys.  An  exception  was  lutidd 
favor  of  the  Jesuits,  who  were  allowed  to  contii 
their  western  missions,  suhject  to  restrictions 
signed  to  prevent  them  from  heeoming  a  cove 
illicit  fiir  trade.  Frontenac  was  also  directed | 
make  peace  with  the  Irocjuois,  even,  if  necess 
without  including  the  western  allies  of  Frani 
that  is,  he  was  authorized  hy  Louis  XIV.  to  pui 
the  course  which  had  discredited  and  im])cril 
the  colony  under  the  rule  of  Denonville.' 

The   intentions  of  the  king  did  not  take  ciTj 
The  policy  of  Frontenac  was  the  true   one,  w 
ever  motives  may  have  entered  into  his  advoc 
of  it.     In  view  of  the  geographical,  social,  politij 
and  commercial  conditions  of  Canada,  the  policj 
his  opponents  was  impracticahle,  and  nothing 
than  a  perpetual  cordon  of  troo})s  could  have 
vented  the  Canadians  from  escaping  to  the  l)i 
woods.     In  spite  of  all  the  evils  that  attendedj 
forest    posts,   it  would    have    been   a    blundei 
abandon  them.      This  quickly  became   appai 


^  M^moire  du  Boy  pour  Frontenac  et  Chmnpiguji,  2G  Mai,  Ui'.H'i  a 
27  Avril,  1697;  Rexjistres  du  Conseil  Sup&ieur,  J^dit  du  21  Mm',  WJi 

"  Ce  qui  vous  avcz  mande  de  rafcoinmofU^nient  dcs  Sniivauxi 
avec  Ics  Irooois  n'a  pas  porniis  h,  Sa  Majestti  (roiitrer  dans  la  dig 
de  la  maiiiere  de  faire  rabandoiinenient  des  postes  (ks  FraiK/ois 
profondeur  des  terres,  particulierenicnt  a  Missiliriiackinac.  .  .  1"^ 
cas  vous  ne  devez  pas  nianquer  de  donner  ordre  pour  miner  les 
tous  les  e'difices  qui  pourront  y  avoir  este  faits."    Le  Ministri:  a 
nac,  26  Mai,  1696. 

Besides  the  above,  many  other  letters  and  despatches  on  bot^ 
have  been  examined  in  relation  to  these  questions. 


-OS.] 


POSITION  OF  FRONTKNAC. 


421 


lanipigny   hiinsolf    sjiw    the    norossity    of    com- 

[)inlse.      The     instructions    of     the    khig    were 

srcely  given    before    they  were  partially  wiih- 

[iwn,  and  they  scon  bora  me  a  dead  letter.    Even 

It  Frontenac  was  retained  after  repeated  direc- 

Lis  to  abandon  it.     The  policy  of  the  governor 

pvuiled  ;     the     colony    returned     to    its    normal 

[thods  of  growth,  and  so  continued  to  tlu^  end. 

|yow  came  the  qnestion  of  peace  with  the  Iro- 

ois,  to  whose  mercy  Frontenac  was  authorized  to 

ive  his  western  allies.     lie  was  the  last  man  to 

'pt   such    permission.      Since    the    buining    of 

ondaga,    the     Iroquois     negotiations   with    the 

hern   tribes  had  been   broken   off,  and  several 

tits  had  occurred,  in  Avhich  the  confederates  had 

ferod  loss  and  been  roused  to  vengeance.     This 

wliat  Frontenac  wanted,  but  at  the  same  time 

[roniised  him  fresh  trou])le  ;  for,  while  he   w'as 

ermined  to  prevent  the  Iroquois  from   making 

ce  ^Wth  the  allies  without  his  authoritv,  he  was 

[ally  determined  to  compel  them  to  do  so  with 

There  must  be  peace,  though  not  till  he  could 

Itrol  its  conditions. 

[he    Onondaga   campaign,   unsatisfactory  as  it 

L  had  had  its   effect.     Several   Iroquois  chiefs 

|e  to  Quebec  with  overtures  of  peace.     They 

fght  no  prisoners,  but  promised  to  bring. them 

lie  spring ;  and  one  of  them  remained  as  a  hos- 

that  the  promise   should  be  kept.      It  was 

fcrtheless  broken  under  English  intluence  ;  and, 

pi  of  a  solemn  embassy,  the  council  of  Onon- 

sent  a  messenger  with  a  w\ampum  belt  to  tell 


4122 


I'UONTKNAC    ATIACKS    rilK   ONON'DAlJAS, 


IK* 


If 


FronlrniK*   lliiH    iIh'v  svi'ic  m11   so   «'n;;;i()ss(Ml  in  |j 
\vnilin<''  llio  rocont  di^nlli  of  HIncK  Kdllc.  n  | 


\\i\ 


V   cliicl',   llml    tlicN    Ii;i(l    no    slr('n;:lli    to    ( 


iinol 


;i\ 


nui\   lliov  I)i»^\l!;(m1    iIimI,   Onoiilio  would    iciuin  tl 
IiosImlcc  nnd  simkI  io  lliein  foi*  llic  I'^hmicIi  |)iiM)nt3| 
Tlu*  nu»ssiMiL;'or  iMrtluM'  <I('c1.ii(m1   tli.il,  llion,L;li  tli 
would     niid\(»     \n'i\vv    willi     Ononlio,    lli(>y    woi 
not    nudu*    it    with    his    idhcs.       I'ronlcinic    tin* 
back     the    |)(\u'0-h(dt    into    his    I'ju'o.       "Tel 
chiofs  that,  if  thcv  nuisi  iuhmIs  stay  at  home  t 
nhout  a  Irillr,  I  will  I'ivo  tluMU  soinothini;-  tocrv  il 
Ti(M    tluMU   hrin^j;   mo   v\cv\    |)iison(M',    Frcncli 
Indian,  and   make   a    (ivatv  that    shall   includt 
niv    childivn,    or    thcv    shall    find    uiv    toinal 


a,uaui, 
wl 


TIkmi,    (urninir  to  a   nuiuhcr  of  Oil 


lit! 


u)  were  prosont 


on  SCO 


that  1 


can  niaUc  m 


for  niysolf  wIumi  I   ph^iso.      If  I  continuo   tho  \\ 
it  is  only  for  vour  sako.    1  will  novor  luako  ji  tro( 
M'itliout  inoluding  you,  and  rooovoring  youi*  pri,^ 
ers  like  my  own." 

Thns  tho  mat  tor  stood,  whon  a  groat  ovont  t( 
plaoo.  Early  in  Fobruary,  a  party  of  Dutch 
Indians  came  to  Montroiil  with  iiows  that  \n 
liad  ])oon  signed  in  Europe  ;  and,  at  the  end 
May,  Major  Peter  Schuyler,  accompanied  by 
lius.  the  minister  of  Albany-,  arrived  with  coi 
of  the  treaty  in  French  and  Latin.     The  srr 

ft' 

of    a    pen   at  Ryswick   had   ended   the  conllici 
America,  so  far  at  least  as  concerned  the  civill 
combatants.     It  \vas  not  till  July  that  Froni( 
receiyed  the  official  announcement  from  Yersril 
coupled    -svitli    an    address  from    the   king  to 
people  of  Canada. 


1)A(;as. 


I'KAl'l-:  OF   llYHWli  IV 


'VS.\ 


fvo^svA  in  1) 

(tie,  a  l:niu)| 
;lli  to  lrn\ 
1(1  id  mil  tl 
'lu'li  |)ri^()HOJ 
I,  lliouj;li  llij 
,  lli(\y  wni 
)nlrnac.  tlin 
^  -'\\A\ 
jli  lioiuc  hi 

liiuLi:  to  <'i'\  H 
ir,   KiH'ucli  ii 

ijlU  ilU'ludr 
mv  toinnliiii 
|)(M'  of  ()lt:i' 
can  niakr  jx'j 
\\\m\v  \\\v  \\ 
inako  51  \\\' 
iig  your  pr'M 


oat  event  ti 
of    Dutch 
ws   tluil   \)( 
at  the  eml 
lanied  by 
od  with  CO] 
Tlie  sen 
the  conllid 
led  the  civ  ill 
hat  Front( 
roni  Yersi  il 
e  kinii:  tx) 


I 


Orit   I''aiiiiiii.  and  Ih.l.»»vih,       'llic  nmnK m  han  iinivrd 

liiiK'd  liv  I  Icav  <ii  to  ii«rrnnilc  llir  iialioiiH.    'I'lif  raliliralion  i>i 

Ircafy  ''•»ii»liiilr»|   Hoini>   fiiur   a^^o  l»y  niir  anihassatloiH  willi 

|iwt>  of  lli(>  l''.iii|i(>i'ni-  and  llin  |')in|iir<<,  ui'trr  liaviii;;  iiiadi'  |M!iin> 
li  Spain,  l')n;[;lan<l,  and  ll<dland,  Inis  rvrrywIicKi  irslorrd 
I  tiMiH|iiillily  so  niui'li  drsircd.     Slia''l»oiH|;,  onr  ol'  tin- diicf 

ini|»:irts  of  (In-  rm|iirr  of  !.^|•(•^y,  nnilcd  lof  rvrr  lo  llx"  (  Imrili 
1  ii>  onr  ( 'rown  ;  lln^  Kliini'  rs^faMisln-d  as  (Im  lianirr  liclwij-u 

[niiK')'   iin<l    (iniiiany;   and,    what    lol|t'||<^s   us  rscn    nioi)-,  iho 

sliip  of  tlus  'rnic  i'ailli  aiillioti/cd  hy  a  soh-nin   (Mi;{a;,Min(;nt 

til  sovcrcl^MH  of  iiinillnT  rtlinion,  aio  llui  adviinta;;cH  Hcrnrcfl 

f  litis  last  Ircaly.      IIk'  Aiilliur  of  so  many  lil<'ssin;^s  inanifrHlrt 

liiii^clf  HO  clcarlv  tli'it  wv.  cannol   lint  ncojini/.c  Mis  (roodncM.s  ? 

[1  lli(>  visildc  iniprcsH  of   His  all-powerful   hand  is  as   il  wno 

lal    lie   lias  allixf'd   to  justify  our   iiiHiit    to   cauKo   all   our 

1  lo  s('i-vi>  and  obey  llini,  and  to  niak(^  our  proplo  liajipy. 

(' iiavo  lirmni  liy  the  fullilnicnt of  our  duly  in  olVrriii;^   Ilini 

tlianivs  wfiicli  uro  lli.s  duo;  and  wo  liavr  ordered   the    arcli- 

iiips  and  l)iHho|»H  of  our  kiiiLidoui    to   cause    7)'    Dcuni   to   Iim 

'^  in  the  catlKulrals  of  theiv  diot'estts.      It  is  our  will  and  our 

iinand  that  you  lie.  ptH.'seut  at  that  whi(;h  will  Im^  sun;;  in  iho 

dudral   of  our  city  of   t^ut'lujc;,  o\\   the,  day  appointed   hy  iho 

Hint  of    FrouttMiac,  our    iL,'overnor  and   lieut«!nant-general    in 

k  France,     llerchi  fail  not,  for  bucli  is  our  pleasuri!. 

LouiH.* 

There  was  peace  between  llie  two  crowns  ;  but 
a^'ions  question  still  remtiinej]  between  Froiitenac 
^(1  the  new  governor  of  New  York,  the  Earl  of 
Jelloniont.  When  Schuyler  and  Dellius  came  to 
■lehec,  they  brought  wuth  them  all  the  French 
jisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  English  of  New  York, 
jgether  with  a  promise  from  Bellomont  that  he 
loiild  order  the  Iroquois,  subjects  of  the  British 
[)\vn,  to  deliver  to  lihn  all  those  in  their  possession, 
pi  tiiat  he  would  then  send  them  to  Canada  under 

'  Lettre  dii  Roy  pourjhire  chanter  le  Te  Deuin,  12  ^f<^rs,  l(i',J8. 


'   I 


424         FRONTENAC   ATTACKS   THE   ONONDAGAS. 


% 


hi 


a  safe  escort.     The  two  envoys  (lemaiuled  of  Froj 
tenac,  at  tlie  same  time,  that  he  should  dehvor 
tliem  all   the  Iroquois  in  his  hands.     To  give 
Iroquois    prisoners    to    Bellomont,    or    to    recei^ 
through  him  French  prisoners  whom  the  Irocpu 
had  captured,  would   have    been   an  acknowlcdj 
ment  of    British   sovereignty   over    the   five    ('oj 
federate   tribes.     Frontenac   replied  that  the  ei 
need  give  himself  no  trouble  in  the  matter,  as  tj 
Iroquois  were   rebellious  subjects  of  King  Lou 
that  they  had  already  repented  and  begged  peiicj 
and  that,  if  they  did  not  soon  come  to  conclude 
he  should  nse  force  to  compel  them. 

Bellomont  wrote,  in   return,  that  he  had  s( 
arms  to  the  Iroquois,  with  orders  to  defend  the^ 
selves  if  attacked   by  the  French,  and  to  give 
quarter  to  them  or  their  allies ;  and  he  added  tlij 
if  necessary,  he  would  send   soldiers  to  their  aj 
A  few  days  after,  he  received  fresh  news  of  Fn 
tenac's  warlike  intentioxis,  and  wrote  in  wrath 
follows :  — 


Sir,  —  Two  of  our  Indians,  of  the  Nation  called  Onoii(]a| 
came  yesterday  to  advise  me  thaL  you  had  sent  two  reneL^fa 
of  their  Nation  to  them,  to  tell  thorn  and  the  other  tribes,  exc 
the  Mohawks,  that,  in  case  they  did  not  come  to  Canada  wit 
forty  days  to  solicit  peace  from  you,  they  may  expect  yuiir  nun 
iiig  into  their  country  at  the  head  of  an  army  to  constrain 
thereunto  by  force.  I.  on  my  side,  do  this  very  day  simkI 
lieutenant-governor  with  the  king's  troops  to  join  the  Iiulii 
and  to  oppose  any  hostilities  you  will  attempt;  and,  if  notilsi 
I  will  arm  every  man  in  the  Pi'ovinces  under  my  goveninit  iij 
repel  you,  and  to  make  reprisals  for  the  damage  which  you 
commit  on  our  Indians.    This,  in  a  few  words,  is  the  part  1 


ki 


^ciWYLm  AT  Qa,.:„Kc. 


425 

ke,aMdtho  resolution  T  h-,.-       i 

poper .., .,,,,  p,,.3^,„^-';  »;^';;  ;;;..;n.or  i  have  .,„„„„ 

I  *^^*   >^^i'  notice. 

^  ^"^'  ^"^^'r'  yours,  t^c., 

\'  ^'«««>  22d  August,  IGOa  Ka«l    or    IiEM.o.MONT. 

J  To  arm   every  rmn   *      i- 
»■«  '>eon  diffieulf. '  n'e"  ll'  f°^«rn,„ent  would 

h'  -"'  ordered  Capf.ln  N [  Jr^';-  "'"'"   ''« 

("■'•'-   to  the  relief  of  the  TV  ""^''  '"^  ""«  'o 

r^''-^''   co.npanies  of  ..         ^^"'^''  ^^'^'^  ^'"^  four 

,'•    Then  the  earl  in   ^ f '^^  ^'<^  -"''^  "-.s- 

''"'"'  «»d  make  no  treat,  vitrV"'  P''^'^"""''^^ 
'■-'"«  '''ly^he  despatehJc  : t  ^'t°"'«"'-'<^-     On 
,'-0-  1H-.S  letters  to^he  Sen  f    "  "^"'"'  ^^''"V'^r 
h.v'er  reached  Q„ehco    ''    ,  \^'°"'''''"°'--     When 
h'tenac  read    tl  em     w  "^7''''^  *''^'  ''^"^'v^. 

:-.     "MyLo,^;         '"-;'^«  of  groat  d.V 


'"'«•      "JVlv   Lord    r!,>7l  «'oi 

""''•     "  DoJ,  he  f  •  7        "°"'  threatens 

'.^«dl  me  father,  and  H,„./_ 


rne 


'> 


sliaJI 


of  hi 
a^^e  none  of  h 


ni 


n<^>t  a  father  ch 


sees  fit?"     ^ 


:?::;!  'j'^-^-  f--^"  h-n.  broth 

"'•««ti.se  hi.s  children 


18 


/o'lfonac  asked  th 
f^^ellomont 


conversation  followed 


envoy  what  was  th 


-uu^ont  s  government.     Schuv 
r^''    by    a    .roteson.  ..ZT^^ 


''1  that  tl 


'otesq 


rier, 
wlien 
i'n  wliich 
e  strength 
t^i"  parried  the 


1 1  ,    /'co^^'ition,  and 


'eoaH  could  b,i„g,,.o 


an- 


y'^^  men  into  the  field      pf  "'""'"  *  hundred 


be] 


'^\ve  nim,  and  returned 


'ontenac  pretended 


'-  '-C,  aiw'a;:;:::;^  ^^''"  ^•^'•^'-  ^--'^ 


:''!  ' 


426        FBONTEIT^C  ATTACKS  TUE  ONONDaGAS. 


[U 


m 
11" 


The  following   Sunday  was  the  day  appoiu 
for  the  7e  Deum  ordered  by  the  king ;  and  all 
dignitaries  of  the  colony,  AvJth  a  crowd  of  lesser  no 
filled  the  cathedral.     There  was  a  diiuier  oi"  ce 
mony  at  the  chateau,  to  which  Schuyler  was  jivit 
and  he  found  the  table  of  the  governor  tliroin 
with  officers.     Frontenac  called  on  his  guesU 
drink  the  health  of  King  William.     Schuyler 
plied  by  a  toast  in  honor  of  King  Louis ;  and 
governor  next  gave  the  health  of  the  Earl  ol'  l]el 
inont.     The  peace  was  then  solemnly  proclaim 
amid  the  firing  of  cannon  from  the  batteries 
ships ;  and  the  day  closed  with  a  bontire  and  a  geiiej 
illumination.     On  the  next  evening,  Frontenac  ^ 
Schuyler  a  letter  in  answer  to  the  threats  ol" 
earl.     He   had  written  with  trembling  hand, 
unshaken  wiU  and  unbending  pride :  — 

'*  I  am  determined  to  pursue  my  course  witli^ 
flinching ;  and  I  request  }ou  not  to  try  to  thwart 
by  efforts  which  will  prove  useless.     All  the 
tection  and  aid  you  tell  me  that  you  have  givj 
and  will  continue  to  give,  the  Iroquois,  again.^t 
terms  of  the  treaty,  will  not  cause  me  much  nhi 
nor  make  me  change  my  plans,  but  rather,  on 
contrary,  engage  me  to  pursue  them  still  more.'] 

1  On  the  questions  between  Belloniont  and  Frontenac,  Rtlalim 
qui  s'est  passe,  etc.,  1697,  IG'JS;   Clt(iinj)i(/iii/  an  Miiiislrc,  12  JuiHit,  l| 
Frontenac  an  Ministj-e,  18  Oct.,  1098;  Frontfiuic  at  Chant j>i(inii  an  Mk 
[lettre  commune),  16  Oct.,  161)8  ;   Callieres  an  Minisire,  menm  Jute,  etc 
correspondence  of  Frontenac  and  Bollomont,  the  report  of  reter  Sc| 
ler  and  Dellius,  the  journal  of  John  Schnyler,  and  other  pa])eis  oi 
same  subjects,  will  be  found  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IV.    John  Schuvlerl 
grandfather  of    General  Schuyler  of  the  American  Hevolution. 
Schuyler  and  his  colleague  Dellius  brought  to  Canada  all  tlie  Fr 
prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  English  of  New  V'ork,  and  asked  for  Kii| 


DaGAS.        [l^ 


i-1 


A   LAST  DEFLVNCE. 


427 


lay  appoint 
g  ;  and  all 
I  of  lesser  no| 
inner  of  eei 
er  was  Inviu 
irnor  throng 

his  gaest^ 
Scliu}lei' 
Louis ;  and 
i  Earl  oi"  Bell 
ily  proclaini^ 
}  batteries 
re  and  a  genel 
Frontenac  gj 

threats  o[ 
ling  hand, 


As  the  old  soldier  traeed  tlrse  lines,  the  shadow 
■  death  was  upon  him.  Toils  and  years,  passions 
id  cares,  had  wasted  his  strength  at  last,  and  his 
try  soul  could  bear  him  up  no  longer.  A  few 
(eeks   later   he  was   lying   calmly  on  his  death- 

Y 

[ioners  in  return  ;  but  nearly  all  of  these  preferred  to  remain,  a  reinark- 
;  proof  of  the  kindness  with  wiiieb  tha  Canadians  treated  their  civil- 
I  captives. 


course  witU(l 
vy  to  thwart 

All  the 

jou  have  glv| 

[ois.  against 

lie  much  alai| 

rather,  on 

still  more. 'I 

Intenae,  RcJalion 
sirr,  12  Jiiill<t,  II 
\lu'i>ii)i(jni/  an  Mii 

meine  dn(e,  elc,  | 
[port  of  Peter  Sc 

other  papers  o\ 

John  ScluivU'i 

|i  Uevohitioii. 

Inula  all  the  Fr 

Ind  asked  for  Eiij 


CHAPTER  XX. 


ioy». 


DEATH  OF  FK0NTP:NAC. 


His    Last  Houns.  —  IIis  Will.  —  IIis  Funkual.  —  IIis  EulooI 

AND  UI8  CkITIC. lllS    DiSl'UTKS  WITH    THE  ClKUOY.  —  Ills  Ci 

ACTEK. 

In  November,  when  the  hi^i  ship  had  gone, 
Canada  was  sealed  from  the  world  for  half  a  ^  ei 
a  mortal  illness  fell  upon  the  governor.  On 
twenty-second,  he  had  strength  enough  to  dictt 
his  will,  seated  in  an  easy-ch;iir  in  his  chainber| 
the  chateau.  His  colleague  and  adversary,  Cli 
pigny,  often  came  to  visit  him,  and  did  all  in 
power  to  soothe  his  last  moments.  The  reconcil 
tion  between  them  was  complete.  One  of 
Recollet  friends.  Father  Olivier  Goyer,  administei 
extreme  unction ;  and,  on  the  afternoon  of 
twenty-eighth,  he  died,  in  perfect  composm'e  *a 
full  possession  of  his  faculties.  He  was  in 
seventy-eighth  year. 

He  was  greatly  beloved  by  the  humbler  class 
who,  days  before  his  death,  beset  the  cliatoj 
praising  and  lamenting  him.  Many  of  higl 
station  shared  the  popular  grief.  "  He  was 
love  and    delight  of   New  France/'   says   one 


HIS   LAST   HOURS. 


429 


:  "  churchmen  honored  him  for  his  piety, 
[bios  esteemed  him  for  his  viUor,  merchants  re- 
acted him  for  his  equity,  and  the  people  loved 
[ii  for  his  kindness."  ^  "  lie  was  the  father  of 
I  poor,"  says  another,  "  the  protector  of  the 
Iprcssed,  and  a  perfect  model  of  virtue  and 
jty."  ^  An  Ursuline  nun  regrets  him  as  the 
md  and  patron  of  her  sisterhood,  and   so  also 

s  the  superior  of  the  IIotel-Dieu.''  His  most 
Lspicuous  though  not  his  bitterest  opponent,  the 
[eiidant  Champigny,  thus  announced   his  death 

the  court:  "  1  venture  to  send  this  letter  by 
Iv  of  New  England  to  tell  you  that  Monsieur  le 
[into  de  Frontenac  died  on  the  twenty-eighth  of 

month,  with  the  sentiments  of  a  true  Christian. 
|ter  all  the   disputes  we  have  had  together,  you 

hardly  believe,  Monseigneur,  how  truly  and 
eply  I  am  touched  by  his  death.  He  treated  me 
liiiig  his  illness  in  a  manner  so  obliging,  that  I 
iiild  be  utterly  void  of  gratitude  if  1  did  not 
[1  thankful  to  him."  '* 

is  a  mark  of  kind  feeling,  Frontenac  had  be- 
leatlied  to  the  intend  ant  a  valuable  crucifix,  and  to 
[dame  de  Champigny  a  reliquary  which  he  had  long 
efi  accustomed  to  wear.  For  the  rest,  he  gave  fif- 
In  hundred  livres  to  the  Recollets,  to  be  expended 
Imasses  for  his  soul,  and  that  of  his  wife  after  her 
ath.     To  her  he  bequeathed  all  the  remainder  of 


1  La  Potherie,  L  244,  246. 

2  Hennepin,  41  (1704),    Le  Clerc  speaks  to  the  same  effect. 
'  Histoire  des  Ursutines  de  Quebec,  I.  508 ;  Jueliereau,  378 

*  Champigny  au  Minislre,  22  Dec,  1G'.)8. 


430 


DEATH  OF  FRONTENAC. 


IK 


i 


n    I 


m^ 


his  small  property,  and  he  also  clirectecl  tlmt 
heart  slioiilrl  be  sent  her  in  a  case  of  lead  or  silvej 
His  enemies  reported  that  she  refused  to  aocept 
saying  that  she   had  never  had  it  when   he   w| 
living,  and  did  not  want  it  when  he  was  dead. 

On  the  Friday  after  his  death,  he  was  buried 
he  had  directed,  not  in  the  cathedral,  but  in  tj 
church  of  the  Recollets,  a  preference  deeply  oi'h 
sive  to  many  of  the  clergy.     The  bisliop  odiciatei 
and  then    the    Recollet,  Father   Goyer,  who  hj 
attended  his  death-bed,  and  seems  to  have  been 
confessor,  mounted  the  pulpit,  and   delivered 
funeral  oration.     "  This   funeral    pageantry,"  e| 
claimed  the  orator,  "  this  temple  draped  in  nioui 
ing,  these  dim  lights,  this  sad  and  solemn  musj 
this  great  assembly  bowed  in  sorrow,  and  all  tl 
pomp  and   circumstance  of  death,  may  well  pei 
trate   your  hearts.     I  w^ill  not  seek   to  dry  yoj 
tears,  for  I  cannot  contain    my  own.     After 
this  is  a  time  to  weep,  and  never  did  people  we| 
for  a  better  governor." 

A  copy  of  this  eulogy  fell  into  the  hands  of 
enemy  of  Frontenac,  wdio  wrote  a  running  co^ 
mentary  upon  it.  The  copy  tiii^s  annotated  is  si 
preserved  at  Quebec.  A  few  passages  from*  tl 
orator  and  his  critic  will  show  the  violent  conllf 
of  opinion  concerning  the  governor,  and  illustr^ 
in  some  sort,  though  with  more  force  than  fairnej 
the  contradictions  of  his  character  ;  — 

1  Testament  dn  Comte  de  Frontenac.  I  am  indebted  to  k\)\)6  Boil 
Maskinongc  for  a  copy  of  this  will.  Frontenac  expresses  a  wish  tliat  j 
lieart  should  be  placed  in  the  family  tomb  at  the  Church  of  St.  Nici 
des  Champs. 


>.l 


mS  EUT.OGIST  AND  HIS  CHITIC. 


431 


The  Orator.  "  This  wise  man,  to  whom  the 
enate  of  Venice  listened  with  respectful  atten- 
jon,  because  he  spoke  before  them  with  all  the 
[rce  of  that  eloquence  which  you,  Messieurs,  have 

often  admired^  —  ^ 

The  Critic.  ''  It  was  not  liis  eloquence  that  they  admired, 
[this  extravagant  pretensions,  his  hursts  of  rage,  and  his  im- 
Irtliy  treatment  of  tliose  who  did  not  agree  with  him." 

The  Orator.  "  This  disinterested  man,  more 
|i?ied  with  duty  than  with  gain, — 

The  Critic.  "  The  less  said  about  that  the  better." 

Tlie  Orator.  "  Who  made  the  fortune  of  others, 
|it  (lid  not  increnre  his  own,  — 

Tlie  Critic.  "Not  for  want  of  trying,  and  that  very  often 
hpite  of  his  conscience  and  the  king's  orders." 

\The  Orator.  "Devoted  to  the  service  of  his 
bg:,  whose  majesty  he  represented,  and  whose 
[rson  he  loved,  — 

The  Critic.  "  Not  at  all.  How  often  has  he  opposed  his 
|iers,  even  with  force  and  violence,  to  the  great  scandal  of 

iryhody ! " 

\The  Orator.  "  Great  in  the  midst  of  difficulties, 
that  consummate  prudence,  that  solid  judgment, 
at  presence  of  mind,  that  breadth  and  elevation 

I  thought,  which  he  retained  to  the  last  moment 
his  life,  — 

\The  Critic.  "  He  had  in  fact  a  great  capacity  for  political 
noeuvres  and  tricks  ;  but  as  for  the  solid  judgment  ascribed  to 

Alluding  to  an  incident  that  occurred  when  Frontenac  commanded 
fenetian  force  for  the  defence  of  Candia  against  the  Turks. 


432 


DEATH  OF  FRONTENAC. 


lU 


i: 


liiin,   his   conduct   gives  it    tlio  lie,  or  else,  if  he  ha«l  it 
vehemence  of  his  passions  often  unsettled  it.     Tt  is  mucli  fo] 
fear'  1  that  his  presence  of  mind  was  the  efTect  of  an  ohsfiij 
and  hardened  self-contidence  by   which  he    put  himself  ;ih| 
everybody  and  every  tiling,  since  he  never  used  it  to  repairj 
far  as  in  him  lay,  the  public  and  [>rivate  wrongs  he  cau| 
What  ought  he  not  to  have  done  here,  ni  this  t(;m{)](',  to 
pardon  for  the  obstinate  and  furious  heat  with  which  he  sn  1( 
persecuted   the  Church  ;  upheld  and  even  instigatcl  rein 
against  ^er;  pr  tetted  libe. tines,  scandnl-mongers,  and  orcuti 
nf  Qv'I      "s     -:^iL  .i  the  ministers  of   Heaven;  molested,  poji 
cuted,  V(  \o  i   m;  isons  most  eminent    in  virtue,  nay,  even 
priests  anu    uagi: '    '^es,  who  defended  the  cause  of  God; 
tained  in  all  sorts  of  v/ays  the  wrongful  and  scandalous  traific 
brandy  with  the  Indians  ;  permitted,  approved,  and  suppoi 
the  license  and  abuse  of  taverns  ;  authorized  and  even  ial! 
duced,  ill  spite  of   the  remonstrances  of  the  servants  of 
criminal  and  dangerous  diversions  ;  tried  to  decry  the  bishop 
the  clergy,  the  missionaries,  and  other  persons  of  virtue,  :iii( 
injure  them,  both  here  and  in   France,  by  libels  and  calumuj 
caused,  in  fine,  either  by  himself  or  through  others,  a  mukit^ 
of  disorders,  under  wli'cli  this  infant  church  has  groaned 
many  years  !     What,  1  say,  ought  he  not  to  have  done  bcf 
dying  to  atone  for  these  scandals,  and  give  proof  of  sincere  p 
tence  and  compunction  ?    God  gave  him  full  time  to  recognize 
errors,  and  yet  to  the  last  he  showed  a  great  indiflPerence  ii 
these  matters.     Wiien,  in  presence  of  the  Holy  Sacrament 
was  asked  according  to  the  ritual,  '  Do  you  not  beg  pardon 
all  the  ill  examples  you  may  have  given  ? '  he  answcrtnl.  '  \1 
but  did  not  confess  that  he  had  ever  given  any.     In  a  woidj 
behaved  during  the  few  days  before  his  death  like  one  who 
led  an  irreproachable  life,  and  had  nothing  to  fear.     And  t' 
the  presence  of  mind  that  he  retained  to  his  last  moment  I " 

The  Orator.  "  Great  in  dangers  by  his  coiira 
he  always  came  off  with  honor,  and  never  was 
proached  with  rashness,  — 

The  Critic.  "  True  ;  he  was  not  rash,  as  was  seen  when  \ 
Bostonnais  besieged  Quebec." 


m.i 


HIS   I.:c7.0GTST  AND  HIS  CHITIC. 


T/ie  Orator.  *' Q 


lotised  its  goo.]  >,oik 


■•oy  in  religion  by  hi.s  piety,  j,. 


/'//^   CnV/,. 


it 


S; 


■^  in  sjjint  and  in  tn,tl 


'I'   '"  "'-»y-^  -■'am.od  l,„      :•,  ''L  ';?;-''"';^'^  -"•«"•"..  wi,l. 
«■    ''«  di'l  "01  exact  lV«„?,er         '''"'.'  '"""'''•■"!""» 

f  'Jn-e  Faith,  such  a^'t       t^^'^  "'""'"'"  """•-'y  "PP-   o„ 

>  tl-at  appeared    nTt'       .    '''^^°'^''  "'^^  ?''*>- 
h  could  not  di  si    „Se    '^  "^•^'  "^^'  ^  --"ty 


K/^e  CnV; 


tc. 


a 


The  eulogist  did 


yhe  Orator.  "  An 


wot  know  the  old  fox. 


f.  Critic.  "  What  fHend 


inviolable  fidelity  to  fri 


end 


s. 


Of  i\ 


Wi 


iome 


•IS  it  persons  of  tlie  otl 


y..^enewa,a..,v.  fond,  and  too  „:;;:,: 


ler 


the  h 


on  or 


^^^^^e  Orator.  ^^Disint_ 
^^   he   used  his 


otl 


^oinmend  thei 


1^  ^r^ervices 


_      -^..^  Luuii-  derv 
as  seen  when  mm  favors  for  them 


for  hiniseh;  nrdent 
at  court  only   ( 


erested 
!redi 

excuse  their  fault.s'and 


28 


'I   i 


% 


434 


DEATH  OF  FHONTENAC. 


IT 


I 


im 


The   Cn'fic.  "True;   but  it  was  for   his  creatures  anrl  fc 
nobody  elfie." 

Tlie  Orator.  "  I  pass  in  silence  tliat  roiidinir 
spiritudl  books  which  ho  practised  ms  an  indispt 
Hable  duty  more  than  forty  years  ;  that  holy  avid  it] 
with  which  ho  listened  to  the  \vord  of  God, — 

21ie  Critic.  "  C)iily  if  the  prcuolier  addressed  tlie  sermon 
him,  and  called  him  Monscif/tfrnr.  As  lor  his  ri'adii)<^,  it  \vi 
often  Jansenist  books,  of  which  he  had  a  great  many,  ami  \vlil< 
be  greatly  praised  and  lent  freely  to  others." 

The  Orator.  ^'  He  prepared  for  the  sacraineiij 
by  meditation  and  retreat,  — 

The   Critic.    "  And  generally  Giine  out  of  bis  retreat  mo] 
excited  than  ever  against  the  Church." 

The  Orator.  "  Let  ns  not  recall  his  ancient  ai 
noble  descent,  his  family  connected  with  all  that 
greatest   in    the   army,  the   magistracy,   and    tl 
government;  Knights,   Marshals   of  France,  (Joj 
ernors  of  Provinces,  Judges,  Councillors,  and  Mij 
isters  of  State  :  let  us  not,  1  say,  recall  all  tlii 
without  remembering  that  their  examples  roiis< 
this  generous  heart  to  noble  emulation  ;  and,  as 
expiring  flame  grows  brighter  as  it  dies,  so  did 
the  virtues  of  his  race  unite  at  last  in  him  to  ei 
with  glory  a  long  line  of  great  men,  that  shall 
no  more  except  in  history." 

The   Critic.  "  Well  laid  on,  and  too  well  for  his  hearcr3| 
believe  him.    Far  from  agreeing  that  all  these  virtues  were 
lected  in  the  person  of  bis  pretended  hero,  they  would  lin( 
very  bard  to  admit  that  he  had  even  one  of  them."  ^ 

1  Oraison  Funehre  dn  tres-hant  et  *refi-puiss(int  Seifjufur  Louis  dc  Bni 
Comte  <le  Frontenac  et  de  Palluau.  etc.,  avec  des  remarques  critiques, 


^.] 


ms  DISPUTES   WITH  THE   CLKRGT. 


435 


aturcs  and  fc 


e  siicruuK'Ul 


his  retreat  mol 


It  IS  clonr  onoiigli  from  wluit  quiver  these  arrows 

|t;iine.     From  the  first,  Froiitenae  liiul  sot  himself 

opposition  to  the  most  inlhiential  of  the  Cana- 

|i;in  clergy.     When  he  came   to  the  colony,  their 

)\vor  in  the  government  was  still  enormous,  and 

[von  the  inost  devout  of  his  predecessors  had  heen 

loroed  into  conflict  with  them  to  defend  the   civil 

ithority ;  but,  when  Frontenac  entered  the  strife, 

?  brought  into   it  an   irritability,  a  jealous  and 

hncting  vanity,  a  love  of  ride,  and   a  passion   for 

laving   his  own  w\ay,  even  in  trifles,  which  made 

I'ln  the  most  exasperating  of  adversaries.     Hence 

was  that  many  of  the  clerical  party  felt  towards 

lini  a  bitterness  that  was  far  from  ending  with  his 

Ife. 

The  sentiment  of  a  religion  often  survives  its 
pnvictions.  TIoAvever  heterodox  in  doctrine,  he 
las  still  wedded  to  the  ol)servances  of  the  Church 
id  practised  them,  under  the  ministration  of  the 
jt'collets,  w^ith  an  assiduity  that  made  full  amends 
his  conscience  for  the  vivadtv  with  whiidi  he 
bosed  the  rest  of  the  clergy.  To  the  Re  collets 
loir  patron  was  the  most  devout  of  men ;  to  his 
[tramontane  adversaries,  he  was  an  impious  per- 
Mitor. 

I  His  owm  acts  and  w^ords  best  paint  his  character. 
Id  it  is  needless  to  enlarge  upon  it.     What  per- 


lat  indefiitigable  investigator  of  Canadian  liistory,  the  late  M.  Jacques 
per,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  a  copy  of  tliis  eulogy,  suggested  that 
fanonymous  critic  may  liave  heen  Abbe  la  Tour,  author  of  the  Vie  d<t 
'il.  If  so,  his  statements  need  the  supi)ort  of  more  trustworthy  ev^i- 
pee.  The  above  extracts  are  not  consecutive,  but  are  taken  from  vari- 
! parts  of  the  manuscriDt. 


430 


DKATII  OF   FliONTKNAC. 


[Lit 


liaps  iiijiy  be  least  fui'<^iven  liiiii  is  tlic  bniharilv  q 
tlie  wjii'l'jiie  that  lie  wjiged,  and  tlio  cnieltios  that  li 
perinilled.      lie  luid  seen  too  many  towns  sacke| 
to    l)e    much   subject  to   the    scru[)les    of   iuo(l( 
liumnnitarianisrn  ;  yet  lie  was  no  whit  more  rut 
less  than  his  times  and  his  surroiindin;^^^,  and  ."^on 
of   his  contemporai'ies  find  fault  with  him  for  n( 
allowin<i,'    more     Indian    cji[)tives    to    be    torlurc!^ 
Many  siu'passed  him  in  cruelty,  none  eiiualied  hi^ 
in  capacity  and   vigor.     When    civili/ed   enemi^ 
were  once  within  his  power,  he  treated  them,  a 
cording  to  their  degree,  with  a  chivalrous  courti  ,sj 
or  a  generous  kindness.     If  he  was  a  hot  and   poj 
tinacious  foe,  he  was  also   a  fast  friend  ;   and 
excited   love  and   hatred   in  {d)out  e([ual   mea^iii 
Jlis  attitude  towards   public   enemies   was  alwaj 
proud    and     peremptory,     yet    his    courage    wj 
guided   by  so  clear  a  sagacity  that  he  never  \v\ 
forced   to  recede  from  the  position  he  had  tak^ 
Towards  Indians,  he  was  an  admirable  compoui 
of  sternness  and  conciliation.     Of   the   inmieiisii 
of  his  services  to  the  colony  there  can  be  no  doiil 
He  found   it,   under    Dcnonville,   hi     humiliati^ 
and  terror;  and  he  left  it  in  honor,  and  almost 
triumph. 

In  spite  of  Father  Goyer,  greatness  must  be 
nied   him ;   but  a  more  remarl^jdjle  figure,  in 
bold  and  salient  individuality  and  sharply  mark| 
light  and  shadow,  is  nowhere  seen  in  Amcri( 
history.^ 

'  There  is  no  need  to  exa<?gerate  the  services  of  Frontenac.    Xd 
ing  could  be  more  fallacious  than  tlie  assertion,  often  repeated,  tiial 


m. 


INACTION  OF  THK   KNdMSII. 


43' 


H«  time  riina<l:i  vvithntood  tlip  nttifrd  forco  of  nil  tho  HriflHli  colonioi. 

ist  of  tlioHO  colonies  took  no  pntt  whiitovur  in   tliu  war.     Only  two  of 

jiii'iii   took   an   aggrcKhive  part,  New   York  and    MuMHarlinMi'itH.     New 

rk  iiffMckod  (\in.i(lu  fwico,  with  tin-  two  incnn«<i'l»'r!il»li'  vvnr  ixiriii"*  of 

ihii  S(!luiyliT  in  lii'.tO  ttiul  of  IVler  Sclmylor  in  ilie  next  .yeiir.  'i'lio 
Ml'  expeililion    uihUt   Winllirop   did   not   get   beyond    Lake   (Jeorge. 

jlimsaclmst'tts.  or  rather  her  Heahoard   towns,  attacked   Canada  onco. 

|\i('l)C'(:,  it  i»  true,  was  kept  in  alarm  diirinj;  i^v'eral  years  hy  r)nnor« 
iiiiolher  attack  I'lctni  the  Hanie  (|iiiirler ,  hat  no  .such  ilnugcr  existed, 
Max'*a(diUH(  tlH  was  exhauslcMl  hy  her  first  clTort.  'I'he  real  Hcnurgo 
Canada  nas  the  Iroquois,  supplied  with  arms  and  auiniunition  from 

llbaiiy. 


Frontenac. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

1609-1701. 
CONCLUSION. 

The  New  Governok.  —  Attitude  ok  the  Iuoquois.  —  XeuotI 
TiONS.  —  Embassy  to  Onondaga.  —  Peace.  —  The  Troqltois  ai 
THE  Allies. — Difficulties.  —  Death  or  the  Gkeat  IIlkon.J 
Funeral  Rite.s. — The  Grand  Council. —  ThiJ  Woimv  of  Fkc 
tenac  finished.  —  results. 


It  did  not  need  the  presence  of  Frontenac 
cause  snappings  and  sparks  in  the  highly  electri 
atmosphere  of   New    France.     CalUeres    took   lij 
place  as  governor  ad  interim^  and  in  due  time 
ceived  a  formal  appointment  to  the  office.     i\])a 
from  the  wretched  state  of  his  health,  undenuin^ 
by  gout  and  dropsy,  he  was  in  most  respects  \\i 
fitted  for  it ;  but  his  deportment  at  once  gave  iii 
brage  to  the  excitable  Champigny,  who  declarj 
that  he  had  never  seen  such  hauteui'  since  he  cai 
to  the  colony.      Another   ofHcial    was  still  jik 
offended.      "  Monsieur    de    Frontenac,"    he   sai 
"•  was  no  sooner  dead  than  trouble  began,     ^h 
sieur  de  Callieres,  puffed  up  by  his  new  authori 
claims  honors  due  onlv  to  a  marshal  of  France, 
would  be  a  different  matter  if  he,  like  his  pi< 
cessor,  were  regarded  as  the  father  of  the  count 
and  the  love  and  deliirht  of  the  Indian  allies. 


[•m.] 


THE   IROQUOIS   QUESTION. 


439 


Hie  review  at  Montreal,  he  sat  in  his  carriage,  and 
Lceived  the  incense  offered  him  with  as  much 
ijinposiire  and  coolness  as  if  he  had  been  some 
(livinity  of  this  New  World."  In  spite  of  these 
lomplaints,  the  court  sustained  Callieres,  and  au- 
lliorized  him  to  enjoy  the  honors  that  he  had  as- 
liinied.' 

His  first  and  chief  task  was  to  finish  the  work 
lliat  Frontenac  had  shaped  out,  and  bring  the  Iro- 
[jiiois  to  such  submission  as  the  interests  ot"  the 
iilony  and  its  allies  demanded.  The  iierce  con- 
[tilerates  admired  the  late  governor,  and,  if  they 
[lieinselves  are  to  be  believed,  could  not  help 
luienting   him ;    but  they   were    emboldened    by 

is  death,  and  the  dilliculty  of  dealing  with  them 
uis  increased  by  it.  Had  they  been  sin-e  of  elfect- 
Lil  support  from  the  English,  there  can  be  little 
toubt  that  they  would  have  refused  to  treat  with 
llie  French,  of  whom  their  distrust  was  extreme. 
[lie  treachery  of  Denonville  at  Fort  Frontenac 
[till  rankled  in  their  hearts,  and  the  English  had 
ttade  them  believe  that  some  of  their  best  men 
kd  lately  been  poisoned  by  agents  from  Montreal. 
llie  French  assured  them,  on  the  other  hand,  that 

le  English  meant  to  poison  them,  refuse   to  sell 

lem  powder  and  lead,  and  then,  wdien  they  were 
i!t4pless,  fall  upon  and  destroy  them.    At  Montreal, 

ky  were  told  that  the  English  called  them  their 
kegroes ;  and,  at  Albany,  that  if  tiiey  made  peace 
jidi  Onontio,  they  would  sink  into  ^^  perpetual  in- 

'  Clximplfjnij  an  Miuistro,  20   Mttl,  16')9  ;    La   Puthen'e  an   Ministre,  2 
lam,  1009  ;    ^'  udreidl  et  La  Potherie  au  Ministre,  ineme  dale. 


440 


CONCLUSION. 


nml 


fainy  and  slavery."     Still,  in   .spite   of  their  pei 
plexity,  they  persisted  in  asserting  their  indepenl 
dence  of  each  of  the  rival  powers,  and  played  th^ 
one  against  the  other,  in  order  to  strengthen  tluiij 
position    with    both.      When    Bellomont    recpiire 
them  to  surrender  their  French  prisoners  to  hiii 
they  answered  :  "  We  are  the  masters;  our  prisoi 
ers  are  our  own.     We  will  keep  them  or  give  ihei 
to  the  French,  if  w^e  choose."     At  the  same  tinu 
they  told  Callieres  that  the}'  would  bring  them  to  thj 
English  at  Alban}^,  and  invited  him  to  send  tliilhej 
his    agents    to    receive    them.     They  were   iiuic] 
disconcerted,  however,  when  letters  were  read 
them  which   showed  that,   pending  the   action 
commissioners  to  settle  the  dispute,  the  two  kino 
had  ordered  their  respective  governors  to  refiai 
from  all  acts  of  hostility,  and  join  forces,  if  neces 
sary,  to  compel  the  Iroquois  to  keep  quiet.'     Thij 
with  their  enormous  losses,  and  their  desire  to  r 
cover  their  people  held  captive  in  Canada,  led  tliei 
at  last  to  serious  thoughts  of  peace.     Resolving 
the  same  time  to  try  the  temper  of  the  new  Onoi 
tio,  and  yield  no  more  than  was  absolutely  nece^ 
sary,  they  sent  him  but  six  ambassadors,   and  n 
prisoners.     The  ambassadors  marched  in  single  i\] 
to  the  place  of  council ;  while  their  chief,  who  1(3J 
the  way,  sang  a  dismal  song  of  lamentation  for  tl^ 
French  slain  in  the  war,  calling  on  them  to  thriif 
their  heads  above  ground,  behold  the  good  woij 


'  Le  Roij  a   Frontennc,  25  Mars,  1690.     Frontonac's  denlli   was 
known  at  Versailles  till  April.     Le  Roy  d' Amjletcrrp  a  BtJIomonl,  2  Act 
1699  ;  La  Potherie,  IV.  128  ;  Calliens  a  Ueilomord,  7  Aoui,  1G9U. 


b.] 


NEGOTIATIONS. 


441 


;  our  pnsou 


[  peace,  and  banish  every  tliouglit  of  vengeance. 

allieres  proved,  as  they  had  hoped,  less  inexorable 

an  Frontenac.     lie  accepted  their  promises,  and 

oii.sented  to  send  for  the  prisoners  in  their  lia nds, 

iQ  condition    that  within    thirtv-six    days    a    full 

ieputation  of   their  principal  men  should  come  to 

llontreal.     The  Jesuit  Bruyas,  the  Canadian  Mari- 

urt,  and  a  French  oflicer  named  Joncaire  went 

iick  \vith  them  to  receive  the  prisoners. 

The  history  of  Joncaire  was  a  noteworthy  one. 

le  Senecas  had  cnptured  him  some  time  l)efore, 

rtured  his  companions  to  death,  and  doomed  him 

the  same  fate.  As  a  preliminary  torment,  an 
|H  chief  tried  to  burn  a  finger  of  the  captive  in 
e  l)Owl  of  '  is  pipe,  on  which  Joncaire  knocked 
111  down.  If  he  had  begged  for  mercy,  their 
^irts  would  have  been  flint ;  but  the  warrior  crov/d 

re  so  pleased  with  tliis  proof  of  coin\'ige  that 

V  adopted  him  as  one  of  tiKMr  tri1)e,  and  gave 

[m  an  Iroquois  wife.     He  lived  among  them  for 

any  years,  and  gained  a  commanding  influence, 

lich  proved  very  nseful  to  the  French.     When 

with  Bruyas  and  Maricourt,  approached  Onon- 
ii^a,  which  had  long  before  risen  from   its  ashes, 

V  were  o-reeted  with  a  fusillade  of  lov,  and  re- 
tiled  with  the  sweet  stalks  of  young  maize,  fol- 
vod  by  the  more  substantial  refreshment  of 
nison  and  corn  beaten  together  into  a  pulp  and 
iled.  The  chiefs  and  elders  seemed  well  inclined 
peace  ;  and,  tl rough  an  envoy  came  from  Albany 

prevent  it,   he   behaved   with   such    arrogance 
it.  far  from  dissuadiuL''  his  auditors,  he  conlirmed 


442 


CONCLi:*^lON. 


II. 


them  in  their  resolve  to  meet  Onontio  at  Montroj 
They  seemed  willing  enough  to  give  up  th( 
French  prisoners,  but  an  unexpected  didiculj 
arose  from  the  prisoners  themselves.  They  h^ 
been  adopted  into  Iroquois  families ;  and,  ha\  Ii 
become  attached  to  the  Indian  life,  they  would  iij 
leave  it.  Some  of  them  hid  in  the  woods  to  e.sciii 
their  deUverers,  who,  with  their  best  efforts,  cui 
collect  but  thirteen,  all  women,  children,  and  Ijo^ 
With  these,  they  returned  to  Montreal,  acconipaniJ 
by  a  peace  embassy  of  nineteen  Iroquois. 

Peace,  then,  was  made.  "  I  bury  the  liatcUel 
said  Callieres,  "  in  a  deep  hole,  and  over  the  he 
I  place  a  gieat  rock,  and  over  the  rock  I  tur: 
river,  that  the  hatchet  may  never  be  dug  up  agjui 
The  famous  Huron,  Kondiaronk,  or  the  Rat,  ^^ 
present,  as  were  also  a  few^  Ottawas,  Abenakis,  aJ 
converts  of  the  Saut  and  the  Mountain.  Slii 
words  passed  between  them  and  the  ambas.sadoi 
but  at  last  they  all  laid  down  their  hatchets  at  tj 
feet  of  Onontio,  and  signed  the  treaty  togetli^ 
It  was  but  a  truce,  and  a  doubtful  one.  More 
needed  to  confirm  it,  and  the  following  Augi 
was  named  for  a  solemn  act  of  ratification.^ 

Father  Engelran  was  sent  to  Michilliniackiii^ 
while  Courtemanche  spent  the  winter  and  spiij 
in  toilsome  journeyings  among  the  tribes  of 

1  On  these  negotiations,  La  Potherie,  IV.  lettrexi.;  iV.  Y.  Col.  hi 
IX.   708,711,715;    Golden,   200;    Callieres  au  Mlmstre,  16  Oct.,  1 
Chumpiijni/  au   Miiiistre,  22  ./ui/lct,    1700;    La    Poihrle  au   M'ni.itn^ 
Aout,  1700;  Ibid.,  16  Or^,  1700;  Callihcs  a   Chumpiyujj  au  Ministt 
Off .  ■,  700.     S«.e  .iso  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IV.,  for  a  great  number  oi 
'is)i  documents  bearing  on  the  sulgecjt. 


w-l 


THE  IROQUOIS  AND  THE  ALLIES. 


443 


[est.  Such  was  his  influence  over  them  thsit  he 
ersuaded  them  all  to  give  up  their  Iroquois 
[risoners,  and  send  deputies  to  the  grand  council, 
[iigelran  had  had  scarcely  less  success  among  the 
orthern  tribes;  and  early  in  July  a  great  fleet  of 
[moes,  conducted  by  Courtemanche,  and  filled  with 
liiefs,  warriors,  and  Iro([uois  prisoners,  paddled 
[}\vn  the  lakes  for  Montreal.  Meanwhile  Bruyas, 
laricourt,  and  Joncaire  had  returned  on  the  same 
pnd  to  the  Iroquois  towns ;  but,  so  far  as  con- 
[rned  prisoners,  their  success  was  no  greater  than 
efore.  Whether  French  or  Indian,  the  chiefs 
[ere  slow  to  give  them  up,  saying  that  they  had 

been  adopted  into  families  who  would  not  part 
[itli  them  unless  consoled  for  the  loss  by  gifts. 
lis  was  true ;  but  it  was  equally  true  of  the  other 
[ibes,  whose  chiefs  had  made  the  necessary  gifts, 
ad  recovered  the  captive  Iroquois.  Joncaire  and 
fs  colleagues  succeeded,  however,  in  leading  a 
|ige  deputation  of  chiefs  and  elders  to  Montreal. 
Courtemanche  with  his  canoe  fleet  from  the  lakes 
[as  not  far  behind  ;  and  when  their  approach  was 
mounced,  the  chronicler,  La  Totherie,  full  of 
iiriosity,  went  to  meet  them  at  the  mission  villn   e 

the  Saut.  First  appeared  the  Iroquois,  two 
lindred  in  all,  firing  their  guns  as  their  car  -s 
bw  near,  while  the  mission  Indians,  ranged  i  uug 
b  shore,  returned  the  salute.  The  ambassadors 
[ere  conducted  to  a  capacious  lodge,  where  for  a 
juarter  of  an  hour  they  sat  smoking  with  immov- 
We  composure.  Then  a  chief  of  the  mission  made 
I  speech,  and  then  followed  a  feast  of  boiled  dogs. 


444 


CONCLUSION. 


(1701 


In  the  morning  they  tlescencletl  the  rapids  to  Monj 
real,  and  in  due  time  the  distant  roar  of  thi 
saluting  cannon  told   of  tlicir  arrivaL 

They  liad  scnrccly  left  the  village,  when  the  rivi 
was  covered  with  the  canoes  of  the  western  aiu 
northern   alhes.      There   was  another  fusillade* 
welcome   as  the   heterogeneous   company  landt'C 
and    marched    to   the   great   council-house.      Tlij 
calumet  was  produced,  and  twelve  of  the  asseniljloJ 
chiefs  sang  a  song,  each  rattling  at  the  same  timj 
a  dried  gourd  half  full  of  peas.     Six  large  keiih 
wc^e    next   brought  in,  containing    several   divr 
and  a  benr  suitably  chopped  to  pieces,  which  beiiij 
ladled  out  to  the  guests  were  despatched  in  an  ii 
stant,  and  a  solemn  dance  and   a  supper  of  l)()ilo^ 
corn  closed  the  festivity. 

The  strangers  embarked  again  on  the  next  da; 
and  the  cannon  of  Montreal  greeted  them  as  tliej 
lande  1  before  the  town.     A  great  quantity  of  evei 
green  boughs  had  been  gathered  for  their  use,  'dn\ 
of   these   they  made  their  wigwams   outside   ih 
palisades.     Before  the  opening  of  the  grand  com 
cil,  a  multitude  ot  questions  must  be  settled,  jea 
ousies  soothed,  and  complaints  answered.     Call  ion 
had  no  peace.     He  was  busied  for  a  week  in  givinj 
audience  to  the  deputies.     There  was  one  ques 
tion  which   agitated    them  all,  and  threatened 
rekindle    the    war.      Kondiaronk,    the    Eat,   tit 
foremost  man  among  all    the   allied   tribes,  g-r 
utterance  to  the  general  feeling  :  '*  My  father,  y 
told  us  last  autumn  to  bring  you  all  the  Iroqiu 
prisoners   in   our  hands.     We   have   obeyed,  ai 


l;oi-l 


SPEKCII  OF  THE   RAT. 


445 


[roiight  thcin.  Now  lot  us  see  if  the  Troquols  liave 
\<o  obeyed,  and  broiiglit  you  our  people  wlioni 
iiey  captured  during  tlie  war.  If  they  have  done 
0,  tliey  are  sincere  ;  if  not,  they  are  false.  But  I 
[now  that  they  have  not  brought  them.  I  told 
[oil  last  year  that  it  was  better  that  they  should 
Iring  their  prisoners  first.  You  see  now^  how  it  is, 
fid  how  they  have  deceived  us." 
The  complaint  was  just,  and  the  situation  became 
^itical.  The  Iroquois  deputies  were  invited  to 
xplain  themselves.  They  stalked  into  the  council- 
loin  with  their  usual  haughty  composure,  and 
plily  promised  to  surrender  the  prisoners  in 
(ture,  but  offered  no  hostages  for  their  good  faith, 
[lie  Rat,  who  had  counselled  his  own  and  other 
[ibcs  to  bring  their  Iroquois  captives  to  ?i^  •  «treal, 
[as  excessively  mortified  at  finding  himsolt  duped. 
Be  came  to  a  later  meeting,  when  this  and  other 
iatters  were  to  be  discussed  ;  but  he  was  so  weak- 
Red  by  fever  that  he  could  not  stand.  An  arm- 
iialr  was  brought  him ;  and,  seated  in  it,  he 
irangued  the  assembly  for  two  hours,  amid  a 
eep  silence,  broken  only  by  ejaculations  of  ap- 
bval  from  his  Indian  hearers.  When  the  meet- 
b  ended,  he  was  completely  exhausted  ;  and,  being 
Irried  in  his  chair  to  the  hospital,  he  died  about 
plnight.  He  was  a  great  loss  to  the  French ;  for, 
lough  he  had  caused  the  massacre  of  La  Chine, 
Is  service;;,  of  late  years  had  ])een  invaluable.  In 
lite  of  his  unlucky  name,  he  was  one  of  the  ablest 
torth  American  Indians  on  record,  as  appears  by 
IS  remarkable  influence  over  many  tribes,  and  by 


446 


CONCLUSION. 


[1' 


the  respect,  not  to  say  aflmiratioti,  of  his  Frcn^ 
contemporaries. 

The  French  charged  themselves  with  the  funei 
rites,  carried  the  dead  chief  to  his  wif^waj 
stretched  him  on  a  robe  of  beaver  .skin,  and  1( 
him  there  lying  in  state,  swatlied  in  a  scnilj 
hlnnket,  Avith  a  kettle,  a  gun,  and  a  sword  at 
side,  for  his  use  in  the  world  of  spirits.  Tliis  w| 
a  concession  to  the  superstition  of  his  countrvmei 
for  the  Rat  was  a  convert,  and  went  re<2:iilarlv 
mass.'  Even  the  Iroquois,  nis  deadliest  foes,  p 
tribute  to  his  memory.  Sixty  of  them  camo 
solemn  procession,  and  ranged  themselves  aroii 
the  bier ;  while  one  of  their  principal  chiefs  pi 
nounced  an  harangue,  in  wdiich  he  declared  tl 
the  sun  had  covered  his  face  that  day  in  grief 
the  loss  of  the  great  Huron.^  He  was  buried  on 
next  morning.  Saint-Ours,  senior  captain,  led  t| 
funeral  train  with  an  escort  of  troops,  followed 
sixteen  Huron  warriors  in  robes  of  beaver  ski 
marching  four  and  four,  with  faces  painted  bla 
and  guns  reversed.  Then  came  the  clergy,  a^ 
then  six  war-chiefs  carrying  the  coffin.  It  \v 
decorated  with  flowers,  and  on  it  lay  a  plumed  hi 
a  sword,  and  a  gorget.     Behind  it  were  the  broth 


1  La  Potherie,  IV.  220.     Charlevoix  suppresses  the  kettle  ami 
and  says  that  the  dead  chief  wore  a  sword  and  a  uniform,  like  a  Frei 
officer.    In  fact,  he  wore  Indian  leggins  and  a  capote  under  his  scu^ 
blanket. 

-  Charlevoix  says  that  these  were  Christian  Iroquois  of  the  un>>k 
Potherie,  his  only  authority,  proves  them  to  have  been  heathen,  as  tl 
chief  mourner  was  a  noted  Seneca,  and  their  spokesman,  Avenano, 
the  accredited  orator  of  the  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  Cayugas,  and  Scne^ 
in  whose  name  he  made  the  funeral  harangue. 


^M 


TnE  GRAND   COUNCn.. 


447 


ifl  pons  of  the  dead  chief,  and  files  of  Huron  aiid 
[ittawa  warriors  ;  while  Madame  dc  Chani])ifrny, 
jttended  hy  Yandreuil  and  all  the  militnry  oflicers, 
loscd  the  procession.  After  the  service,  the  sol- 
trs  fired  three  volleys  Ov'er  the  grave  ;  and  a  tablet 
[as  placed  npon  it,  carved  with  the  words,  — 

Cy  git  lk  Rat,  Ciikf  dks  IIuiions. 

All  this  ceremony  pleased  the  allied  tribes,  and 

elped   to  calm  their  irritation.      Every  obstacle 

eing  at  length  removed  or  smoothed  over,  the 

liirth  of  AuQ-ust  was  named  for  the  strand  council. 

vast,  oblong  space  was  marked  out  on  a  plain 

enr    the    town,   and    enclosed  with    a    fence    of 

Iranches.     At  one  end  was  a  canopy  of  boughs  and 

pes,  under  which  were  seats  for  the  spectators. 

troops  were  drawn  up  in  line  along  the  sides ;  the 

|ats  under  the  canopy  were  filled  by  ladies,  officials, 

ad  the  chief  inhabitants  of  Montreal ;    Gallic  res 

[t  in  front,  surrounded  by  interpreters ;  and  the 

iidians  were  seated  on  the  grass  around  the  open 

bace.     There  were  more  than  thirteen  hundred 

I  them,  gathered  from  a  distance  of  full  two  thou- 

Ind  miles,   Hurons   and   Ottawas  from    Michilli- 

lackinac,  Ojibwas  from  Lake  Superior,  Crees  from 

)ie  remote  north,  Pottawatamies  from  Lake  Michi- 

an,  Mascontins,  Sacs,  Foxes,  Winnebagoes,   and 

[enominies  from  Wisconsin,  Miamis  from  the  St. 

oseph,  Illinois  from  the  river   Illinois,  Abenakis 

[om  Acadia,  and  many  allied  hordes  of  less  ac- 

pint ;  each  savage  painted  with  diverse  hues  and 

atterns,   and    each   in    his   dress   of    ceremony, 


448 


CONCLUSION. 


in 


leathern   shirts   fringed   with    Hculp-locks,    (^ulori 
bliinkets  or  robes  of  biscn  hide  iind  beaver  .skil 
bristling  crests  of  hair  or  long  lank  tresses,  em 
feathers  or  horns  of  beasts.     Pre-eminent  aiiioi 
them  all  sat  their  valiant  and  terrible  foes,  the  w; 
riors  of  the  confederacy.     ^'Strange,"  exclaims 
Potherie,  "  that  four  or  live  thousand  should  nml 
a  whole  new  world   tremble.     New  England  is  b| 
too  happy  to  gain  their  good  graces  ;  New  Franl 
is  often  wasted  by  their  wars,  and  our  allies  diej 
them  over  an  extent  of  more  than  fifteen  huudri 
leagues."     It  was  more  a  marvel  than  he  knew,  f| 
he  greatly  overrates  their  number. 

Callieres  opened  the  council  with  a  speecli, 
which  he   told   the  assembly  that,  since  but  f( 
tribes  were  represented  at  the  treaty  of  the   yel 
before,  he  had  sent  for  them  all  to  ratify  it;  th 
he  now  threw  their  hatchets  and  his  own  into 
pit  so  deep  that   nobody  could    find  them ;  tb 
henceforth  they  must  live  like  brethren ;  and, 
by  chance  one  should  strike  another,  the  injurJ 
brother  must  not  revenge  the  blow,  but  come  fj 
redress   to   him,    Onontio,    their   common   fath( 
Nicolas  Perrot  and  the  Jesuits  who  acted  as  iiit( 
preters  repeated  the  speech  in  live  different  la] 
guages ;  and,  to  confirm  it,  thirty-one  wampum  ])e( 
were  given  to  the  thirty-one  tribes  present.     Tli< 
each  tribe  answered  in  turn.     First  came  Ilassal 
chief  of  an  Ottawa  band  knoAvn  as  Cut  Tails. 
approached  with  a  majestic  air,  his  long  robe 
beaver  skin  trailing  on  the  grass  behind  him.    Foj 
Iroquois  captives  followed,  with  eyes  bent  on  tl 


iioi.l 


TITT:   grand   COUNCEt*. 


449 


Ifrounfl ;  and,  when  he  stopped  before  the  governor, 
rhev  seated  themselves  at  his  feet.  "  Yon  asked 
b  for  our  prisoners,"  he  said,  ''  and  here  they  are. 
|l  sot  them  free  beeanse  yon  wish  it,  and  I  re<^'anl 
|;liem  as  my  brotliers."  Then  turning  to  the  Iro- 
quois deputies :  "  Know  that  if  I  pleased  I  might 
lave  eaten  them;  but  I  have  not  done  as  you 
pould  have  done.  Remember  this  when  we  meet, 
pi  let  ns  be  friends."  The  Iroquois  ejaeulated 
jjicir  approval. 

Next  came  a  Huron  chief,  followed   by  eight 

Iroquois  prisoners,  who,  as  he  declared^  had  been 

loiight  at  great  cost,  in  kettles,  guns,  and  blankets, 

noin  the  families  who  had  adopted  them.     ^'  We 

(liought  that  the  Iroquois  would  have  done  by  us  as 

fe  have  done  by  theiVi ;  and  we  were  astonished 

|o  see  that  they  had  not  brought  us  our  prisoners. 

[/isten  to  me,  my  father,  and  yon,  Iroquois,  listen. 

am  not  sorry  to  make  peace,  since  my  father 

fishes  it,  and  I  will  live  in  peace  with  him  and 

fitli  you."     Thus,  in  turn,  came  the  spokesmen  of 

ill  the  tribes,  delivering  their  prisoners  and  making 

leir  speeches.     The  Miami  orator  said :    ''  I  am 

[ery  angry  with  the  Iroquois,  who  burned  my  son 

ome  years  ago ;  but  to-day  I  forget  all  that.     My 

ather's  will  is  mine.     I  will  not  be  like  the  Iro- 

[iiois,  who  have  disobeyed  his  voice."     The  orator 

it  the  Mississagas  came  forward,  crowned  with  the 

|ead  and  horns  of  a  young  bison  bull,  and,  pre- 

mting  his  prisoners,  said  :  "  I  place  them  in  your 

ands.     Do  with  them  as  you  like.     1  am  only  too 

|i'oud  that  you  coimt  me  among  your  allies." 

29 


■.% 


^. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


/. 


^/ 


..V 


%  4i 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


lAAIM    12.5 

^  y^  12.2 


1.4 


2.0 

1.6 


<P% 


V] 


.%.. 


^> 


o 


/ 


m 


'i>  > 


->• 


-T 


O 


7 


Hiotographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  M580 

(716)872-4303 


,\ 


•N? 


C 


V 


^^  ^\ 


O 


'^W^' 
^ 


JiHl^f 


450 


coNcrxMoy. 


[1701 


l*---^ 

%i::. 


}^  ' 


fii'^ 


The  chief  of  the  Foxes  now  rose  from  his  seat 
at  the  farther  end  of  the  enclosure,  and  walked 
Bedately  across  the  whole  open  space  towards  thel 
stand  of  spectators.     His  face  was  painted  redfandj 
he  wore  an  old  French  wig,  with  its  abundant  curls 
in  a  state  of  complete  entanglemenr,.     When  Ik 
reached  the  chair  of  the  governor,  he  bowed,  an( 
lifted  the  wig  like  a  hat,  to  show  that  he  was  per- 
fect in  French  politeness.     There  was  a  burst  ol 
laughter  from  the  spectators ;  but  Callieres,  witl 
ceremonious  gravity,  begged    him    to   put  it  oi 
again,  which  he  did,  and  proceeded  with  his  speechj 
the  pith  of  which  was  briefly  as  follows :  "  Th( 
darkness  is  gone,  the  sun  shines  bright  again,  an( 
now  the  Iroquois  '    my  brother." 

Then  came  a  3^oung  Algonquin  war-chief,  dresse( 
like  a  Canadian,  but  adorned  with  a  drooping  re( 
feather  and  a  tall  rids-e  of  hair  like  the  crest  of 
cock.     It  was    he  who   slew    Black   Kettle,   thai 
redoubted  Iroquois  whose  loss  filled  the  confeder-j 
acy  with  mourning,  and  who  exclaimed  as  he  fell] 
"  Must  I,  who  have  made  the  ivhole  earth  tremblei 
now  die  by  the  hand  of  a  child ! "     The  yoim< 
chief  spoke  concisely  and  to  the  purpose :  '^  I  ai 
not  a  man  of  counsel :  it  is  for  me  to  listen  to  yoiil 
words.     Peace  has  come,  and  now  let  us  forget  th^ 
past." 

When  he  and  all  the  rest  had  ended,  the  oratoj 
of  the  Iroquois  strode  to  the  front,  and  in  brief  wordj 
gave  in  their  adhesion  to  the  treaty.  "  Onontic 
we  are  pleased  with  all  you  have  done,  and  we  havj 
listened  to  all  you  have  said.     We  assure  you  bj 


■^M 


:oi.] 


THE   WORK  OF  FRONTENAC  FINISHED. 


451 


these  four  belts  of  wampum  that  we  will. stand  fast 
in  our  obedience.  As  for  the  prisoners  whom  we 
have  not  brought  jou,  we  place  them  at  your  dis- 
posal, and  jou  will  send  and  fetch  them." 

The  calumet  was  lighted.  Calliercs,  Champigny, 
land  Vauclreuil  drew  the  first  smoke,  then  the  Iro- 
quois deputies,  and  then  all  the  tribes  in  turn. 
The  treaty  was  duly  signed,  the  representative  of 
leach  tribe  affixing  his  mark,  in  the  shape  of  some 
[bird,  beast,  fish,  reptile,  insect,  plant,  or  noude- 
pcript  object. 

'  Thus,"  says  La  Potherie,  "  the  labors  of  the 
Ikte  Count  Frontenac  were  brought  to  a  happy 
lonsummation."  The  work  of  Frontenac  was  in- 
'lecd  finished,  though  not  as  he  .  ould  have  finished 
lit.  Callieres  had  told  the  Iroquois  that  till  they  sur- 
rendered their  Indian  prisoners  he  would  keep  in 
lis  own  hands  the  Iroquois  prisoners  surrendered 
k  the  allied  tribes.  To  this  the  spokesman  of  the 
[onfederacy  coolly  replied  :  "  Such  a  proposal  was 
never  made  since  the  world  began.     Keep  them, 

you  like.  We  will  go  home,  and  think  no  more 
[bout  them ;  but,  ^*f  you  gave  them  to  us  without 
laking  trouble,  and  gave  us  our  son  Joncaire  at 
[lie  same  time,  we  should  have  no  reason  to  dis- 
riist  your  sincerity,  and  should  all  be  glad  to  send 
bu  back  the  prisoners  w^e  took  from  your  allies." 
lalli^res  yielded,  persuaded  the  allies  to  agree  to 
pe  conditions,  gave  up  the  prisoners,  and  took  an 
ppty  promise  in  return.  It  was  a  triumph  for 
Ihe  Iroquois,  who  meant  to  keep  their  Indian  cap- 
fves,  and  did  in  fact  keep  nearly  all  of  them.' 

'  The  council  at  Montreal  is  described  at  great  length  by  La  Potherie. 


n 


452 


CONCLUSION. 


U: 


i ' 


The  chief  objects  of  the  late  governor  were  gjiinei 
The  power  of  the  Iroquois  was  so  far  broken  thj 
they   were    never  again    very  formidable    to   t] 
French.   Canada  had  confirmed  her  Indian  alliancel 
and  rebutted  the  English  claim  to  sovereignly  ov 
the  five  tribes,  with  all  the  consequences  that  lun 
upon  it.     By   the  treaty  of   Eyswick,  the   grot 
questions  'at  issue  in  America  were   left   to   tl 
arbitrament  of  future  wars  ;  and  meanwhile,  as  tin 
went  on,  the  policy  of  Frontenac  developed  ai 
ripened.      Detroit  was  occupied    by  the  Frencl 
the    passes  of    the  west  were  guarded    by  fori 
another "  New  France  grew  up  at  the  mouth  of  tl 
Mississippi,  and  lines  of    military  communicatic 
joined  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  with  the  Gulf  of 
Lawrence ;  while  the  colonies  of  England  lay  pj 
sive  betw^een  the  Alleghanies  and  the  sea  till  rous( 
by  the  trumpet  that  sounded  with  wavering  not 
on  many  a  bloody  field  to  peal  at  last  in  trium] 
from  the  Heights  of  Abraham. 

a  spectator.     There  is  a  short  official  report  of  the  various  speeches,! 
which  a  translation  will  be  found  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IX.  722.     CnlUei 
himself  gives  interesting  details.    {Callieres  an  Minisire,  4  Oct.,  1701.) 
great  number  of  papers  on  Indian  affairs  at  this  time  will  he  found] 
N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IV. 

Joncaire  went  for  the  prisoners  whom  the  Iroquois  had  prollli^o(^ 
give  up,  and  could  get  but  six  of  them.     Callieres  an  Ministre,  ;][ 
1701.     The  rest  were  made  Iroquois  by  adoption. 

According  to  an  English  official  estimate  made  at  the  end  of  tlie  \i^ 
the  Iroquois  numbered  2,550  warriors  in  1689,  and  only  1,280  in  1( 
N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  IV.  420.  In  1701,  a  French  writer  estimates  them  at  o\ 
1,200  warriors.  In  other  words,  their  strength  was  reduced  at  least 
half.  They  afterwards  partially  recovered  it  by  the  adoption  of  prison* 
and  still  more  by  the  adoption  of  an  entire  kindred  tribe,  the  Tuscaroi 
In  1720,  the  English  reckon  them  at  2,000  warriors.  N.  Y.  Col.  Dd 
V.  557. 


APPENDIX. 


THE  FAMILY  OF  FRONTENAC. 


Count  Frontenac's  grandfather  was 

AxTOiNE  DE  BuADE,  Seigneur  de  Frontenac,  Baron  de  Pal- 

fcaii,    Conseiller   d'Etat,   Chevalier   des  Ordres   du    Roy,  son 

Iremier  maitre  d'hotel,  et  gouverneur  de  St.  Germain-en-Laye. 

\\'  Jeanne  Secontat,  his  wife,  he  had,  among  other  children, 

Henri  de  Buade,  Chevalier,  Baron  de  Palluau  et  raestre  de 

kmp  (colonel)  du  regiment  de  Navarre,  who,  by  his  wife  Anne 

rhelippeaur,  daughter  of  Raymond  Phelippeaux,  Secretary  of 

jtate,  had,  among  other  children, 

Louis  X)E  Buade,  Comte  de  Palluau  et  Frontenac.  Seigneur 

risle-Savary,  mestre  de  camp  du  regiment  de   Normandie, 

arechal  de  camp  dans  les  armdes  du  Roy,  et  gouverneur  et 

leutenant  general  en    Canada,  Acadie,  Isle  de  Terreneuve,  et 

ntres  pays  de  la  France  septentrionale.     Louis  de  Buade  had 

his  wife,  Anne  de  La  Grange-Trianon,  one  son,  Franyois 

ouis,  killed  in  Germany,  while  in  the  service  of  the  king,  and 

aving  no  issue. 

[The  foregoing  is  drawn  from  a  comparison  of  the  following 
tthorities,  all  of  which  will  be  found  in  the  Bibliotheqiie 
pationale  of  Paris,  where  the  examination  was  made  :  Memoires 
3faroUes,  abbe  de  VtUeloi?!,  II.  201 ;  L'llermite-Souliers, 
htoire  Genealogiqiie  de  la  Noblesse  de  Touraine  ;  Du  Chesne, 
Vcherches  Historiqnes  de  VOrdre  du  Stiint- Esprit ;  Morin,  Statuts 
POrdre  du  Saint- Esprit  ;  Marolles  de  Vilieloin,  Hisfoire  des 
me.ns_  Comfes  d'Anjou  ;  Pere  Anselme,  Grands  Officicrs  de  la 
''"n'07ine ;  Pinard,  Chronologie  Historiqiie-""-ill(aire  :  Table  de 
Gazette  de  France.     In  this  matter  of  the  P^-onteuac  geueal- 


IP  r 


454 


APPENDIX. 


[;l 


ogy,  I  am  much  indebted  to  the  kind  oiricjis  of  my  friend,  Jjiiiu 
Gordon  Clarke,  Esq. 

When,  in  1600,  Henry  IV.  was  betrotlied  to  IMario  de  >r«Hli(ij 
Frontenac,  grandfather  of  the  governor  of  Canada,  described  A 
"  ling  des  plus  antiens  serviteurs  du  roy,"  was  sent  to  Floreiioi 
by  the  king  to  carry  his  portrait  to  his  allianced  bride.    AJcmuin 
de  Philippe  Haraidt,  1  ly  (Petitot). 

The  ai)pointmcnt  of  Frontenac  to  the  post,  esteemed  as  hi<jlilt 
honorable,  of  nvntre  d'iioUl  in  the  royal  household,  immediati  It 
followed.     There  is  a  very  curious  book,  the  journal  of  .h  nil 
Ileroard,    a    physician    charged    with    the    care    of   the   inf.ui 
Dauphin,  afterwards  Louis   XI 11.,  born  in   IGOl.     It  recun 
every  act  of  the  future  monarch :  his  screaming  and  kickiiii,' 
the  arms  of  his  nurses,  his  refusals  to  be  washed  and  dresM^ 
his  resistance  when  his  hair  was  combed ;  how  he  scratched  hi] 
governess,  and  called  her  names;  how  he  quarrelled  wiiJi  tlij 
children  of  his  father's  mistresses,  and  at  the  age  of  four  d( 
clined  to  accept  them  as  brothers  and  sisters;  how  his  niotlie 
slighted  him  ;  and  how  his  father  sometimes  caressed,  sometiiii 
teased,  and  sometimes  corrected  him  with  his  own  hand.     Ti 
details  of  the  royal  nursery  are,  we  may  add,  astounding  t( 
their  grossness  ;  and  the  language  and  the  manners  amid  wliiol 
the   infant   monarch   grew    up   were  wprthy   of   the   days 
Rabelais. 

Frontenac  and  his  children  appear  frequently,  and  not  uJ 
favorably,  on  the  pages  of  this  singular  diary.  Thus,  when  tl 
Dauphin  was  three  years  old,  the  king,  being  in  bed,  took  hi 
and  a  young  Frontenac  of  about  the  same  age,  set  them  bel'ur 
him,  and  amused  himself  by  making  them  i-ally  each  other 
their  infantile  language.  The  infant  Frontenac  had  a  trick 
«?tuttering,  which  the  Dauphin  caught  from  him,  and  retains 
for  a  long  time.  Again,  at  the  age  of  five,  the  Dauphin,  uiin< 
with  a  little  gun,  played  at  soldier  with  two  of  the  Fronun^ 
children  in  the  hall  at  St.  Germain.  They  assaulted  a  towi 
the  rampart  being  represented  by  a  balustrade  before  the  lid 
place.  "  The  Dauphin,"  writes  the  journalist,  "  said  that 
would  be  a  musketeer,  and  yet  he  spoke  sharply  to  the  othei 


APPENDIX. 


455 


iiy  friuiid,  .Tinno 

luric  (!«'  M(!(ll(i8 
ida,  (l(\scril)C(l  ;d 
icnt  to   Florciio^ 
hrido.    Mcin(/(ri 

;teeine»l  as  hlulilj 
lold,  imnu'(liat<'H 
journal  of  .Jt:ii 
e    of   tliu    intaii 
GOl.     It  recon 
ig  and  kickiiii,'  \i 
hud  and  dr(js.M;( 
ho  soratcluMl  hil 
anx'llod  willi  tli| 
a<xe  of  four  de 
;  how  liis  luot'iK 
ressed,  sometiuK 
own  hand.     Till 
,  astoundhig  f( 
ners  amid  wh'u 
of    the    days 

tly,  and  not  ui 
Thus,  wlieii  ll 
ill  bed,  touU  hi 
set  them  befoi 
ly  each  other 
ac  had  a  trick 
lim,  and  retail i( 
Dauphin,  ann< 
)f  the  FrontciU 
issaulted  a  towj 
e  before  the  iiii 
it,  "said  that 
ply  to  the  othei 


Uho  would  not  do  as  he  wislicd.     The  king  said  to  him,  'My 

boy,  you  are  a  musketeer,  but  you  s]H'ak  like  a  general.'  "  Long 
laftcr,  when  the  l)au))hiu  was  in  his  fourteenth  year,  the  follow- 

iii!;  entry  occurs  in  the  physician's  diary  :  — 

St.  Germain,  Sunday,  22(1  (./"///i  1014).  "  He  {the  Jhoiphln) 
l^oes  to  the  chapel  of  the  terrace,  then  mounts  his  horse  and  goes 

w  tind  M.  de  Souvrc  and  M.  de  Frontenac,  whom  he  surprises 
Ls  (hey  were  at  breakfast  at  the  small  house  near  the  (piarrics. 

At  half  past  one,  he  mounts  again,  in  hunting  boots  ;  goes  to  tho 
[park  with  M.  de  Frontenac  as  a  guide,  chases  a  stag,  and 
Icatches  him.      It  was  his  lirst  stag-hunt." 

Of  Henri  de  Buade,  father  of  the  governor  of  Canada,  but 
jlittle  is  recorded.  When  iu  Paris,  lie  lived,  like  his  son  after 
|liim,  on  the  Quai  des  Cclestins,  in  the  parish  of  St.  Paul.     His 

;oii,  Count  Frontenac,  was  born  in   1G20,  seven  years  after  his 

uitlicr's  marriage.  Apparently  his  birth  took  place  elsewhere 
Itlian  in  Paris,  for  it  is  not  recorded  with  those  of  Henri  de 
JBuade's  other  children,  on  the  register  of  St.  Paul  (Jal,  Diction- 
\mire  Critique,  liiograpliique,  et  d'llistoire).     The  story  told,  by 

Tallemaiit  des  Keaux  concerning  his  marriage  (see  page  6) 
Iseeiiis  to  be  mainly  true.     Colonel  Jal  says :  •'  On  con(;oit  quo 

j'ai  pu  etre  teute  de  connaitre  ce  qu'il  y  a  de  vrai  dans  les  recits 
[de  Saint-Siinon  et  de  Tallemant  des  Reaux ;  voici  ce  qu'apr6s 
Ibien  des  reclierches,  j'ai  pu  apprendre.  M'l®  La  Grange  fit,  eu 
leffet,  un  mariage  a  demi  secret.  Ce  ne  fut  point  a  sa  paroisse 
jijue  fut  benie  son  union  avec  M.  de  Frontenac,  mais  dans  une 

des  petites  eglises  de  la  Cite  qui  avaient  le  privilege  de  recevoir 
lies  amants  qui  s'unissaient  malgre  leurs  parents,  et  ceux  qui 
[regularisaient  leur  position  et  s'epousaient  un  peu  avant  —  quel- 

(juefois  apres  —  la  naissance  d'un  enfant.  Ce  fut  a  St.  Pierre- 
Imx-Bocufs  que,  le  mercredy,  28  Octobre,  1G48,  '  Messire  Louis 
Ide  Buade,  Chevalier,  comte  de  Frontenac,  conseiller  du  Roy  en 
jjes  conseils,  mareschal  des  camps  et  armees  de  S.  M.,  et  maistre 
Ide  camp  du  regiment  du  Normandie,'  epousa  '  demoiselle  Anne 
Ide  La  Grange,  fille  de  Messire  Charles  de  La  Grange,  conseiller 
Idu  Roy  et  maistre  des  comptes '  de  la  [)aroisse  de  St.  Paul 
Icoiume  M.  de  Frontenac, '  en  vertu  de  la  dispense  .  .  .  obtenue 


1^ 

J   ,4. 

I 


456 


APPENDDL 


1 


de  M.  Tofficial  de  Paris  parlaquello  il  est  perraisau  Sr  de  Buark 
et  demoiselle  de  La  Grange  de  eelcbrer  leur  marriage  suyvani 
et  conforraement  a  la  permission  qu'ils  en  out  obtenuo  du  SJ 
Coquerel,  vicaire  de  St.  Paul,  devant  le  premier  cure  ou  vicair^ 
sur  CO  requis,  en  gardant  les  solennitos  en  ce  cas  requiscs  et  uc 
coutumdes.* "  Jal  then  gives  the  signatures  to  the  act  of  mar^ 
riage,  which)  except  that  of  the  bride,  are  all  of  the  Frouteus 
familj. 


au  S'  de  Buad 


•  cure  ou  vicairt 
3  requises  ct  uc 
the  act  of  muH 
'  the  Frouteui 


INDEX. 


A. 

ibcnakis,  Indians  of  Acadia  and 
Maine,  220,  221^  228,  310,  308; 
attack  the  Christian  Iroquoia,  234; 
their  domain,  338;  missions,  339; 
incited  against  the  English  colo- 
ni^t9,  348;  attack  on  York,  349; 
visit  Viilebon  at  St.  John,  351, 
352;  their  attack  on  Wells,  353; 
is  foiled,  355 ;  treaty  with  the  Eng- 
lish at  Pemaquid,  360;  are  won 
back  by  the  French,  361-363  ;  influ- 
enced bv  missionary  priests,  374-376. 

Ilcaclia  (Nova  Scotia  and  westward 
to  the  Kennebec)  exposed  to  in- 
roads from  New  England,  117,  335 ; 
the  war  in,  335-308;  the  region, 
337-339 ;  relations  with  New  Kng- 
lind,  340;  hostilities,  342;  Viilebon 
governor;  border  war,  347,  353- 
36:] ;  New  England  attacks,  373. 

llbany,  an  Indian  mart,  75 ;  Indian 

[council  there,  90,  120;  Iroquois 
summoned  thither  by  Dongan,  158 ; 
by  Schuyler,  399  ;  expedition 
against  Montreal,  240. 

llbaav.  Fort,  on  Hudson's  Bay,  taken 

[by  Canadians,  134. 

Jibemarle,  Duke  of,  aids  Phips,  242. 

illiance,  triple,  of  Indians  and  Eng- 

[lish,  197. 
Hours,  councillor  at   Quebec,    im- 

I  prisoned  by  Frontenac,  iil-54  (see 

1247). 

Indros,  Sir  Edmund,  appointed  colo- 

Inial  govenior,  164;  his  jurisdiction, 
165;  plunders  Castine,  221;   is  de- 

I  posed,  223;  at  Pentogoet,  346. 

luteuil,  1  ttorney-^eneral  of  Canada, 

I  an  enemy  of  Frontenac,  47,  247; 

I  banished,  49. 

Ivaux,  Count  d',  French  envoy  at 

I  London,  135. 

B. 

lastile,  confinement  of  Perrot,  41. 
I'liris,    Chevalier   de,    sent    by    La 
lluire   to  seize  Fort  St.  Louis,  86. 
Kiucour,  299. 


Bellcfonda,  Man?chal  de,  a  friend  d 

Frontenac  at  court,  59. 
Bellomont,  Earl  of,  governor  of  New 

York,  423 ;  corresponds  with  Fron- 
tenac, 423-426. 
Belmont,  Abln^  cited,  102  «.,  154. 
Bernicres,  vicar  of  Laval  in  Canada. 

38. 
Bienville,  Fran9ois  de,  288. 
Big  Mouth,  an  Iroquois  chief,  95,  98, 

105, 114,  141 ;  his  speech  in  defiance 

of  La  Barre,  107-109 ;  his  power  in 

the   coufcderacv,  170 ;   defiance  of 

Denonviilc,  17l 
Bigot,  .laccjues  and  Vincent,  Jesuits, 

220-222 ;  in  Acadia,  375,  378. 
Bishop  of  Canada,  see  Laval,  Saint- 

Vntlier. 
Bizard,     Lieutenant,    despatched    by 

Frontenac   to  Montreal,  31. 
Boisseau,  his  quarrel  at  Quebec,  63. 
Boston,  after  the  failure  at  Quebec, 

284,  295;  plan  of  attack  on,  382- 

384. 
Bounties  on  scalps,  &c.,  298. 
Bradstreet,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven, 

made    governor    after    Andros    at 

Boston,  223. 
Bretonvilliers,  superior  of  Jesuits,  42. 
Brucy,  a  lieutenant,  agent  of  Perrot, 

his  traffic  with  Indians,  28,  34. 
Bruyas,  a  Jesuit  interpreter,  105. 

c. 

Cadillac,  324;  at  Michillimackinac, 
403,  406 

Callii^res,  governor  of  Montreal,  150, 
153 ;  his  scheme  for  conquering  the 
English  colonies,  187;  comes  to  the 
defence  of  Quebec,  259,  270,  279  ;  at 
La  Prairie.  290 ;  quarrel  with  the 
bishop,  329-331 ;  in  the  Onondaga 
expedition,  410,  412,  416;  succeeds 
Frontenac  as  governor,  438 ;  trout? 
with  the  Iro(|Uois,  440 ;  conft'reiice 
at  Montreal,  and  treaty,  447-4"5!. 

Canada,  character  of  its  colonial  rule, 
20;  its  condition  under  Uenonvilli'. 
165-108;  Iro(iuois  invasion,  177-18:1 
(see  286,  294,  301). 


ft/ 


^7" 


458 


INDEX 


■I 


L.   '' 


!:■ 


Cannolioot,  a  Seneca  chfof,  197. 

Caniiibnlisin  of  the  ludiaiiH,  112,  153, 
'Jor,,  404. 

Carlioil,  a  JcHuit,  at  Michiltimackinac, 
201. 

Carion,  an  oflicer  of  Torrot,  30;  ar- 
rested hy  Kroiitcimc,  .31. 

Casco  IJay,  j,'arrison  at,  22;J;  defeat  of 
Indians,  '2i(i;  tlie  fjirrisou  overcome 
and  slauj^litort'd,  228-2:{l. 

Catanujui  (Kort  Kronteiiae),  100. 

Chanipi^Miy,  intendant  of  Canada,  I'M], 
333;  his  treacherous  neiziin!  (if  In- 
dians at  Fort  Kroiilenac,  130-142;  at 
Quuliec,  247  ;  at  Montreal,  2r)2 ;  de- 
fends liiniself,  2!J0;  relations  witli 
Trontenae,  310;  a  chaini»ion  of  the 
Jesuits,  322,  32!>;  reconciled  to  1' "ron- 
tenav'   420;  opposes  Callieres,  438. 

Chedabutto (Nova  Scotia),  Fniiif enac's 
rendezvou,-;    188;  fortilications,  33(5. 

Ciiesnave  (La),  a  trader  of  (Quebec, 
72,  102. 

Chesnaye,  La,  massacres  at,  104,  301. 

Chubb  (I'asclio),  connnands  at  renia- 
quid,  378;  wliich  he  surrenders,  381. 

Cocheco  (Dover,  N.  II.),  attacked, 
224. 

Colbert,  mhiister  of  Louis  XIV.,  his 
zeal  for  the  Frendi  colonies,  15; 
despatches  to  Fronteiiae,  20,  41,50, 
60;  instructions  to  Duchesi'cau,  44, 
4(J,  55. 

Converts,  Indian,  their  piety,  &c., 
366,  377  «.,  386. 

Corlaer,  the  Iroquois   name    for  the 

fovernor  of  New  York,  03  n.  (see 
00,  138,  199);  origin  of  the  name, 

217  «. 
Council  at  Quebec,  hostile  to  Tron- 

tenac,  47,  49,  52,  248-251 ;  alarmed 

at  rumors  of  attack,  247. 
at    Onondaga,    196-200;     at 

Montreal,  442-451. 
Courcelle,  predecessor  of  Frontenac, 

26. 
Coureurs  de  bois  to  be  arrested,  29, 

34 ;    amnesty,   51 ;    their   influence 

with    Frontenac,    57;    the    king's 

charge  regarding  them,  58;   under 
.  Du  Lhut,'^54,  90,  128,   144,  193 ;  at 

Micliilliniackinac,    122  ;     deserters, 

125 ;  in  the  Seneca  expedition,  150 ; 

their  license,  183;  hardihood,  209. 
Cut  Nose,  an  Iroquois  convert,  195; 

his  speech  at  the  Onondaga  council, 

197. 

D. 

Davis,  Svlvanns,  a  trader,  command- 
ing at  l''ort  Loyal,  Casco  bi.y,  220  ; 
his  surrender,  231 ;  captivity,  232. 


) 

Dononville,  8urce«»or  of  Ln  Hirro 
governor    of     Canaila.     iG.Sfc-Ki*) 
sails    for    Canada,    116;     liicur 
dtances      tliere  ;      his     chrir;n  ,el 
117;   his  instructions,  120;  his  ji 
trigucs,    121;    cnrropondciice   \*i 
Dougan,   I2;-12H;    thieattiis  ti.  a| 
tack  All)any,  120;  orders   Du   1.1^ 
to   shoot     ijU'h-rangers   jiinl   li^  -«§ 
tors,     130  ;     plans     an    exp.'.lun 
against  the  Iroi|iioi-,   i:\it.  n.ii-ti>l 
the  Ciinadian    militia,  I'S;   tn.iel 
eruiisly  seizes   a   party      f   Ii;'l:,iii 
140  ;  arrives  at  Fori  I'rontt  iiui',  I  U 
at  Ironde(pi()it  Hay,  118;  man  li  f^ 
the  Seneca  coiiutiy,  140;  l)attli 
the  woods,   lr)2;  iiis   report   of 
battle,  l.').'};  destroys  "th"  I'.al.vlo 
of  the  Sciiecas,"  l'.')!  ;  ImlM-;  a  ft 
on  the  Niagara,   15.);    fiutiicr  (( 
respondence  with  Dongaii,  l')l)-MJ 
fiends   an    envoy   to   AHiauy,    16! 
abandons    the    Niagara    foil,    li]^ 
begs  for  the  retu'uof  Indian  cai 
tives,  167;  his  wreteheil  coiiditic 
168;    seeks  a  conference  witli   tlj 
Irocjuois,  170;  who  deceive  him,  ai 
invade  (.'anada,  177  ;  lutrrors  of  tlj 
invasion,    178-182;    he    is  retalle 
and   succeeded  by  Froiitenar,    1{ 
who  linds    him   at   Montreal,    I'.)] 
having  ordered  the  destruction 
Fort  Frontenac,  192. 

Deserters,  Fren(  h,  demanded  by 
nonville,  127  ;  sheltered  by  Uo'uL'-a 
12!),  131. 

Detroit,  112;  a  fort  built  here  bv 
Lhut,    128;    held    bv  the    Faiic 
452. 

Dongan  (an  Irish  Catholic),  govern 
of  New  Netherland,  80;  holds 
Indian  council  at  All)any,  90-!)i 
his  rivalry  with  Canada,  ilO  ;  con 
plaints  of  Denoiiville.  120;  lii^ 
correspondence,  123-128  ;  viudiiat 
himself,  129  ;  he  sends  Denonvi 
some  oranges,  130 ;  his  paciiic 
structions  from  England,  13."); 
wrath  at  the  French  attack  on 
Indian  country,  158;  is  retail 
and  replaced  by  Sir  Edmund  Andr 
164. 

Dover,  N.  H.  (Cocheco),  attacked 
Indians,  224. 

Duchesneau,    sent    as     intendant 
Quebec  ;     sides    with     the    clei 
against  Frontenac,  45;  dispute 
to  the  presidency  of  the  cmnuil,  ■ 
51  ;  quarrel  in  the  council,  5'i ; 
accusations   against  Frontenac. 
5S  ;  Frontenac's  complaints  of  liij 
60-63  ;  and  violence  to  his  son, 
64;  Duchesneau  recalled,  67. 


INDEX. 


459 


I,    155;    fiirtluT  ( ol 


ochoco),  attackcil 


Ptt  I.hiit,  i\  lontlor  of  murenrt  <h  huh, 
J4,  •'■"J,  81,  1»'.»;  rivalry  with  Kii^'li.-^li 
trmUTH  (if  IIiiiNon's  Hay,  HI  ;  iii- 
trii^iu'i^  M'itli  Indians,  111;  l>  .iltU  a 
fort  near  Ditnut.  IJH;  whiic  \w 
liii-*  ft  lin;;('  fmrt!  of  Krcncli  and 
Indians,  141,  147;  It-ads  attack  on 
llic  Stiura.s,  ITiO;  dclcuis  u  party 
of  Indians  r)ii  the  Ottawa,  VX\. 

Duntiitayc,  La,  at  Niagara,  !•'.);  witii 
Dii  Unit  at  MirliillinuicUinac,  111; 
ai  lU'troit,  144;  captures  Woosidxxmi 
uml  Mc'(irc;;'irv,  IK!;  coinmandin;; 
at  .Miciiilliinaiddnaf,  sends  had  news 
to  Montival,  201;  is  ropiaccii  h.v 
|,iMivi,i;ny,  'iO^i 

fi'L'rft',  AhJM',  a  Canadian  missionary, 
is  ill  received  hy  Frontcnac,  .'JG;  car- 
ri(  s  compluints*  of  hiiu  to  France, 
41).  4-J. 

pu^tan,  Mrs.,  of  Haverhill,  her  ex- 
ploit, 385-;!H7. 

putili  traders  iiistij^ate  Irtxinois 
a^jainst  the  French,  7');  pursuit  of 
In;  fur  trade  into  their  country, 
81). 

E. 

xelran,  a  Jesuit  niissionarvat  Micli- 
iilinuickinac,  confers  with  Dcnon- 
vilie,  1'21;  his  dealiiiL^s  witli  tiio 
Indians,  145,  151),  443;  is  wounded 
by  tlic  Senecas,  153. 

inCdish  colonies,  designs  of  I.ouis 
XIV.  for  their  destruction,   18!». 

^iii,'lish  colonists  of  New  Knj^land  in- 
vade Acadia,  117;  their  organiza- 
tion and  policy  compared  witii  the 
French,  oS)4-3U7;  their  military  iii- 

I  etliciency,  408  (see  New  Eiujlnnd). 

F. 

Irmine   (La),  on  Lake  Ontario,  vis- 
lited  bv  La  Barre,  104;  the  coun- 
cil,  105-110;   treaty  of,  113,    117; 
treacherous  attack  here  on  the  Iro- 
quois   by   Kondiaronk    (the    Rat), 
jl7.'!-175. 

liiielon,  a  zealous  missionary  priest 

]at  Montreal,  33  ;  arraii^ned 'at  Que- 

licc  by  Fronteuac,  3U-38;  is  sent  to 

I'lance,  39 ;   and  forbidden  to  re- 

I  turn,  42. 

etcher,  governor  of  New  York,  his 
cmnplaints  of  weakness  and  divi- 
sions, 408. 

orest  posts,  their  abuses  and  their 
value  to  the  F>ench.  419,  420. 


Juit,  see  Albany,  Fdiuine  (La),   Fvcm- 

teinc,    . 
Xalson. 


teii'tc,   Loyal,   Niagara,   St.   Louis, 
I. 
lortilications  of  Canada,  297- 


Fox  Indians,  charKod  with  cowardice, 
112. 

French  dcsi^n<i  of  colonization  nud 
cumiuest,  11!) ;  policy  of  concjuest 
and  ina-sacrc,  ;i7i>-J73;  coloni/.a- 
tion,  comparetl  with  lOn^^lish,  3U4- 
3lt7;  occupation  of  the  lireut  Wes' 
452. 

F'ronttiiac,  Count  (Louis  do  Hiiade) 
j^oviruiir  of  Canada,  Iti72-U!H2, 
l»;S.t-l(i'.t8;  at  St.  Far.i,'f»ii,  4;  Wf 
early  life,  5;  niarriaf;e.  (i,  4.")5 ;  his 
(piarrd  at  St.  Fari;cau,  7  ;  hi-,  estate, 
8 ;  his  vanity,  !» ;  aids  Venice  al 
Cainlia ;  his  appointment  to  com- 
nuind  in  New  France,  1 1  ;  at  (^iei>ec, 
14;  convokes  the  tiiree  estates,  17; 
hisaddiess,  18;  forinof  ^ovi  rmuent, 
1!);  his  merits  and  faults,  21  ;  com- 
niains  of  the  .lesuits  22-2"i,  ;i20-322 ; 
Fort  Fronteiiac  bi.ut  and  coiilidcd 
to  La  Salle,  27;  dispute  with  I'er- 
rot,  jL,^ovcrnor  of  Montreal,  whom 
he  throws  into  prison,  2(S-34;  this 
leads  to  a  ([uarrel  with  Ai)l»e  I'l'iie- 
lon  and  the  ])rie.sts.  35-38;  I'ron- 
tenac's  nlatiotis  with  the  cler;;y, 
3t) ;  his  instructions  from  the  king 
and  (-'olln-rt,  40-40;  his  hot  temper, 
44,45;  (|uesti()n  of  the  presidency, 
4S-51;  imprisonment  of  Amours, 
51-54;  disputes  on  the  fur  trade, 
and  accusations  of  Duchesneau,  54- 
58;  rejtroof  from  the  kini;  and  Col- 
bert, i;8--(30 ;  complaints  ajrainst 
Duchesneau,  60-G3 ;  arrest  of  his 
son,  04 ;  relations  with  I'errot,  05; 
with  the  Church,  08;  with  the  In- 
dians, 09,  254;  his  recall,  07;  sails 
for  France,  71 ;  relations  at  this  time 
with  the  Iroquois,  70-79  ;  Frontenac 
is  sent  aicain  to  Ciiiiada,  180  ;  sduMue 
of  invadinj;  New  York,  187  ;  arrives 
at  Chedaliucto,  188;  at  (iuehec  and 
jNIontreal,  191  ;  attempts  to  save  the 
fort.  192;  sinnnions  a  confereiict;  of 
Indians,  195;  the  conference,  190- 
200;  another  failure,  201;  messai;e 
to  the  Lake  Indians,  203,  200, 
scheme  of  attack  on  English  colon- 
ies, 208;  Schenectady,  211-219; 
Pennuinid,  224  ;  Salmon  Falls,  227; 
Casco  Bay,  229 ;  conference  with 
Davis,  232;  leads  the  war-<lance, 
254;  defence  of  Quebec,  247-279; 
reply  to  IMiips's  snnnnons,  207  ;  begs 
troops  Crom  the  king,  295;  expedi- 
tion against  the  Moliawks,  310-315; 
appeal  to  Toncliartrain,  317-319, 
o20-.'i22,  417;  jeaiuii>ies  against 
him,  319;  complaints  of  ('hampigny, 
■V2'~'r  scheme  of  coast-attack,  357; 
treats  with  the   Iroquois,  397-399, 


460 


INDEX. 


I      *] 


401,  421;  htn  dffTlcuIt  poiiltion.  402; 
expedition  agniiiMt  tliu  OnoiulflKfla, 
41()-4I5,42I :  his  tnrdy  rcwftid.  417  ; 
bin  policy,  41<.>-42l;  con'-Hnondfiico 
witli  Hclloinoiit,  4'2:)-42((:  dnitli  niid 
clinructcr,  428-4;W  ;  tlic  eidofjist  niid 
the  critic,  4''n-4ii4;  IiIm  adininistrii- 
tion,   4W ;    account  of  liiH   tiuuily, 

45;Mr.o. 

Frontenue,  Kort,  27,  78;  I -a  Harnf's 
miiHter  (if  troops,  8r),  !)7;  Ills  arrival, 
103;  Aummonfl  a  conncil  of  Indians, 
187;  who  are  (roailhtroiisly  st'i/«'t| 
and  made  prisoners,  1''t*J-'l4:i  (scu 
182,  ■J«7,  170);  oxjH'dition  a^Minst 
the  Seneca«,  147-165;  Hickncss,  MUi; 
visit  of  the  Kut,  175;  tin-  fort  dc- 
■troycd  bv order  of  Dcnonville,  1!)2; 
restored,  407,  41(1. 

Frontenao,  Madame,  hor  portrait  at 
Versailles,  1;  witii  Mile.  Moiitpcn- 
sier  at  Orh-ans,  .1,7;  surprised  hy 
her  husband's  visit,  4;  disiuisscd 
by  the  princess,  10;  her  stay  in 
I'aris  and  death,  12,  I'J;  serves 
Frontenao  at  the  court,  32U ;  is  made 
bis  heir,  42i). 


G. 

Galley-slaves,  140,  142. 

Ganneions,  a  mission  villaj?e :  Indians 

treacherously  seized,  140. 
Garangula,  95  (see  liij/  Month). 
Garrison  houses  described,  371. 
Glen,  Jolin  S.,  at  Schenectady,  213, 

216,  217  n. 
Grignan,  Count  de,  12  n. 


H.  ' 

j, 

f  ■  Hayes,  Fort  (Hudson's  Bav),  seized, 

133. 
Henrv  IV.  of  France,  anecdotes  of, 

454*. 
Flertel,  Fr.,  commands  an  expedition 

ajjainst  New  Ilainpsliire,  220,  227. 
Ilontan  (Baron  La),  103,  105,  300;  at 

Fort  Frontenue,  130;  his  account  of 

the  attack  on  Quebec,  277. 
Howard,  Lord  (governor  of  Virginia), 

at  Albany,  90. 
Hudson's  llay :  English  traders,  117 ; 

attack   on   their   i>osts    by   Troyes, 

132,134;  by  Iberville,  301-393. 
Huguenots  at  Port  Royal,  341. 
Huron  converts,  24,  75,  255;  at  Mich- 

illimiukinac,  205 
Huron  Indians  inclined  to  the  Fiii;lish, 

118;  at  Michillimackinac,  205. 


1. 


{ 


Ibcrv'illc,  son  of  T^  Moyno,  1.12;  h'.^\ 
military  career,  388';  attni  k  ori  I 
N'ewfoi'indliiiul,  'J8U-391;  ai  lurtl 
NcUon,  .■|<»2. 

Illinois,  trd)e  of,  78,  122. 

IntUans :  illustrations  of  tlidr  innn. 
ncrs  ami  iiistoni",  21,  i»;i.  ill,  n:, 
148,  15(»,  l.'A  253,  25  J.  4  IS  ;  irnuci 
vanl.  151;  tlicir  ciinnihiiliMii,  'C, 
"112.  15  1.  181.20(5.  ;t|:i;  torture.  Hi, 
3(10;  instigated  by  I 'niu  !i,  :2  I5.  :'„,i;j 
great  conference  at  Montreal,  412- 
451. 

Iioiideqnoit    Hav,  147  ;   muster  of  In. 
dians  there,  l48. 

Iro(|nci«i  fl'ivo  Nations).  Oft, 
strength,  71,  Tit;   policy. 


I 


c; 


ckl 

li'dl 


ttxiri 

82;  pride.  !t2;  oOVnces  aunin>-t  thel 
I'rench,  100,  lOil ;  Penonville  s. 
to  chastise  tlieni.  122;  a|>iirii!i( 
by  l)oni;iin,  127;  they  di-t^ll^t  lie 
iionville,  137  :  seizure  "at  Kort  rrmiif. 
iiac,  13!t;  converts  as  allies,  l.Mt, 
15(1;  claimed  as  subjects  by  Aiidnw^ 
105;  invasion  of  Canada,  liiS.  177- 
181;  seize  the  ruins  of  I'ort  I'mnte- 
nac,  1!I3;  their  inroads,  287;  rdi 
tionswith  ndlomont,  424:  tlnir  <\m. 
picions  of  the  Trench,  4ili :  tn;it 
with  (?allicres,  440;  confereiice  at 
Montreal,  442-451 ;  their  ill-faith 
445:   their  numbers,  452  n. 


J. 


James  II.,  110,  13(5;  assumes  proiec* 
torate  over  the  Iroquois,  IHI:  piiti 
the  colonies  under  command  of  An* 
dros,  104;  is  deposed.  i>S2. 

Jesuits  in  ('anacla,  17;  I'rontenac 
charges,  22.  25,  39,  2il3;  I'.ii^li-r 
suspicions,  !l0:  protected  i)y  |iciioti| 
ville.  124  :  excluded  by  Dongaii,  l.'Hj 
hostile  t<i  I'rontenac,  lit  I  ;  dnriiiir  lli< 
attack  on  (Quebec,  :'81  ;  tlieir  iii^ 
lri;;nes,  3;il. 

Joiuaire,  his  adventures  among  il.< 
Indians,  441.  443. 


K. 

Kinshon  (the   Fish),   Iiulian  name 
New  F.ngland,  1!I9. 

Kondiaronk  (the  I.'at),  a  Ihiroii  diiifJ 
77;   his  ci-aft,  wliicii   brings  on  till 
Inxpiois  inv;ision,    173-170.  -'o'l;  ;i(l 
Montreal,  412.444  :  death  am!  IciiT.d 
445-447  ;  a  Christian  convert,  4 10. 


INDEX. 


461 


T. 

f  I^  Mdvnp,  tW;  hijl 
il,    ;J8U-;J!)1;    ni     l\,rt| 

rntioiis  i>f  tlicir  iiuin. 
turns  LM,  (;;i.  nt.  i  |;,  I 
•i.V'J.  'J.'.l.  IIS:  irn.v.'. 
lii'ir  niiiiiil)iili>iii,  'I?, 
20t5,  ;t|;i;  ti.itiir.'.  ls|, 
'il  l)y  I' niK  !i,  '2  i.'i.  i.  iIjI 
iicc  ut  Moiilniil,  112- 

V.  1 17  ;   inustiT  uf  Iii< 
148. 

S^)!!".!!*!).  n!>.  74;  tli<ir| 
Tit;   policy,  7.');    n;ift,| 

Kilt ;  I>i'ii<)ii\  illc  sr(K»| 
lii-iu,  122;    n|>|iniMi  Im  (1| 
27;  tliL-y  tli«^t^ll^t   !>»■. 
sci/iirt;  ut  I'urt  !•  ri'Htc- 
iivorts   as   allifs,    I.mU 
as  siiljiccts  l)y  AndriwJ 
I  of  Cunada,   IDS.  177-| 
*  niiiirt  of  I'ort  Kniiitc' 
■ir  inroads.  287  ;   ri-lii 
llomont,  424:  fluir  <us. 
le    KitikIi,   4ili ;   tnatl 
[s,    440;    ('(HifcfiiMi'  nt\ 
2-451;    tlu'ir   ill-failh 
iiiibers,   452  «. 


J. 

Kifi ;  ussunics  protect 
I'   Iru(|Uoi>,   I'll  :  puti 
luler  (•(iiiiiiiaiul  <if  Au^ 
Icposod.   lvS2. 
ida.    17;    l''r()iit(';i;ii' 
25,   ;i9,    2i>;{;     r.ii^li- 
;  pnttccti'd  Uy  l>iiioiij 
iided  l>y  l)(Jii'j;aii,  l.''.i| 
|ti'iiar,  I'.M  ;  diirinu-  tli< 
U'licr,  :'S1  ;    tlii'ir   iii«j 

I  ventures   uniun;^' 


K. 

Isli),   Indian  name 

llDiJ. 

JK'at),  a  Ifiinm  cliiifj 

|wiiii'li   lifiiii^s  (111  till 

)M,    1 7:)- 17(1.  •-•()■);  .il 

[44  :  dtatli  and  !i;iri;d| 

istidu  convert,  410. 


liA  Bnnr,  governor  of  Canndo,  1082- 
' '.S4  ;  finds  l/)wcr  Qiiohcc  in  ruii\<<, 
72;  Ills  Imaxfinj?,  70;  pntposi's  to  at- 
tft(k  tho  ScMiPcni,  8.'l;  rxp«'ditinn  to 
tli(!  Itliiioin;  pci/.OH  Fort  St.  I.ouis, 
8*;;  rainpaiijn  ntrninst  tlio  Scnccns, 
111);  tliar>;<'s  of  MtMilfs,  KH  ;  coiincij 
nt  I'ort  I,n  Fainii))',  101-110;  l.a 
Itarru's  siH't'tli,  KMi;  iMuhas.sy  to  tho 
l'|ip''"  I-iiko:».  Ill ;  wnifli  of  tho  Ot- 
tawaH,  llli;  Ih  recalU-d,  115. 

|U  t'lit'snay,  partner  of  Duchosnoftti, 
GO;  in  fav(<r  with  La  Harrc,  81  ; 
«ni/os  Fort  Frontcnac,  82;  his  forest 
trmlp,  84  (hco  Chtxiuti/e). 

|U<'liinp,  tnnHfiacTP  of,  178. 

Vort't,  comnmnd'T  of  Fort  Fronte- 
iiai'.  81 ;  returns  to  Franco,  82. 

(iranj^c,  fathur-in-luw  of  Frontc- 
iiar,  5. 

Uko  tribes,  Enplish  alliance,  97; 
(jrcat  f^athorinic  at  INfontnal,  252- 
255;  conciliated  by  Frontenac,  ;J15; 
thi'ir  throatciiint^  nttitude,  40.'l; 
treaty  with  (.'allierc.s,  447-451. 

|I;inil)ervi!le,  a  Jesuit  missionary  at 
Ononda^^a,  78,  05,  104 ;  correspond- 
eiicu  witli  La  Barre,  06,  114;  pro- 
tected bv  Donpfan,  125;  in  danger 
ainonf;  the  Irormois,  1;{7;  escapes  to 
Denonville,  142. 
i^Iotte-Cadillac  (see  Cndillnc). 
Piaquo,  a  Christian  Indian,  255, 
'25(J. 

Prairie  attacked  by  John  Schuvler, 
257 ;  bv  Peter  Schuyler,  280  •  his 
retreat,'201-20.1. 

Salle,  his  relations  with  Frontenac, 
27,  54;  at  Fort  St.  Louis,  75;  which 
U  seized  by  La  Uarre,  86. 

laval,  bishop  of  Canada,  23,  38,  45, 
281. 

«isler,  Jacob,  ot  Fort  William,  212, 
280.  ^      - 

iMovne^  mission  to  the  Onondflgas, 
83,  i04,  100,288. 
ouis  XIIL,  infancy  of,  4.54. 
ouis  XIV.  admonishes  Frontenac,  49, 
65,  58:  recalls  La  Barre,  115:  sup- 
ports Denonville,  1 19, 1.35 ;  his  rci^n, 
184;  designs  rospoctinj?  the  luiglish 
colonies,   180,  100 ;    announces  tho 
treatv  of  I'vswick,  42'}. 
oyal,'Fort,  lit  Casco  Bay,  229,  230; 
surrenders  to  Portneuf,  231. 


M. 

(adeleine  de  Verch^res,  her  heroism, 
302-308. 


Madoriwtmlo,  Penobscci  chief,  345, 
3(50,  303. 

Marcuil  interdicted  for  plav-ailing, 
325-328. 

Massaclmsctts,  condition  of  tho  colony, 
244,  285. 

Matlmr,  24.1,  240. 

Mcdrcpirv,  e,xpedition  to  Ijike  ITtifor, 
128,  147". 

Mi-neval,  tjovemor  of  Port  Uoyal,  237j 
a  prisoner  at  Boston,  210, 

MiMiIfs,  intcndaiit  of  Canada,  72:  let- 
ter to  La  Barre,  Ot);  representations 
to  the  kini;,  114;  recalled,  I'lO. 

Micliipm,  tile  eoimtry  cluinicd  by  the 
FMirlish,  122. 

3Iicliillimaekinac,  trouble  there.  76; 
French  stores  threati'ned,  81,84,  87; 
e.xpediti<iii  of  Perrot,  111;  threatened 
Tndi^ui  hostilities,  121  ;  Imlian  mus- 
ter. 145;  Ln-^lish  traders  seized,  146; 
craft  of  the  Uat,  170;  burnini,'  of  an 
InxMiois  prisoner,  2U5;  iu  command 
of  Cadillac,  331. 

Missionaries,  French,  amont;  tho  In- 
dians, 24,08;  to  be  pn)tected  (Oe- 
iiouville),  124,  103  h.  ;  (I)ongan), 
120,  1.30,  100;  insti;,'ate  Indians  to 
torture  and  kill  their  prisoners,  206; 
incite  to  murderous  attat  ks.  374. 

Mohawks,  fear  tho  French,  74;  their 
setflementSj  03 ;  at  Seliencetady, 
212,  215;  visit  Albany,  218;  niission 
viliaire  at  Sniit  St.  Louis,  30!) ;  ex- 
pedition against  the  tribe,  310-316. 

ISIontespan,  Mme.,  12. 

Montpensier.  Princess,  1 ;  at  Orleans, 
2:  her  exile,  4;  relations  with  Mme. 
Frontenac,  10  (.seo  12  n.). 

Montreal,  condition  under  Perrot,  28, 
65;  arrests  made  by  Perrot,  00;  tor- 
ror  at  the  Iroquois  invasion,  179, 
191 ;  threatened  attack  from  New 
York,  230;  condition  of  the  country 
during  the  Indian  invasions,  301; 
great  gathering  of  tradirrs  and  In- 
dians, 316;  great  council  of  Indiana 
443-451. 

Mosquitoes,  103, 

Moyne,  Le,  106,  288. 

N. 

Nelson,  John,  a  prisoner  at  Quebec, 
warns  the  Massadiusetts  colony, 
358. 

Nelson,  Fort,  on  Hudson's  Bay,  393. 

Nesmond  (Marquis),  to  command  in 
attack  on  Boston,  .382,  3S4. 

New  England  colonics  unlit  for  war, 
244,  285,  304;  relations  with  Canada, 
373;  frontier  hostilities,  385. 

New  Netherland,  colony  of,  89. 


.#?■ 


f^^ 


462 


-*^ 


INDEX. 


r''' . 


:1   i 


New  York,  EnjcHsh  colonies  of;  rela- 
tions with  the  Iroquois,  75;  claims 
to  the  western  country,  117;  in- 
trigues with  the  Hurons,  118;  trade 
witli  the  north-west,  128;  checked 
by  La  Durantaye,  14G  (seeDonyrjn); 
relations  with  (Canada,  374. 

Niagara,  Fort,  planned  by  Denonville, 
125;  Indian  muster  at,  144;  the  fort 
built,  155;  destroyed,  1G6^ 


Oneidas,  93.  ■     ' 

Onondaga,  94;  council  at,  196-200, 
401. 

Onontio,  Indian  name  for  pjovemor  of 
Canada,  09,  78,  92  (La  Barre);  ad- 
dressed by  Big  Mouth,  107-109. 

Orleans,  holds  for  the  Fronde,  2. 

Otr<?ouati  (Big  Mouth),  95. 

Ottawa  Kiver,  its  importance  to  the 
French,  298. 

Ottawas,  their  hostility,  113;  a  generic 
name,  145,  n. ;  join  Denonville,  148; 
their  barbarities,  153;  claimed  as 
British  subjects,  158;  greet  Perrot, 
204;  jealous  oi  the  Hurons,  205; 
their  neutrality  overcome,  253-255. 

Ourehaoud,  a  Cayuga  chief,  195,  200. 

Oyster  River,  attack  and  massacre, 
'365-367. 


P. 

Peace  of  Ryswick,  422 ;  celebrated  in 
Quebec.  426. 

Pemaquicl,  capture  by  French  and  In- 
dians, 224,  346;  scheme  of  J'ronte- 
nac,  357;  its  defences,  358;  attack 
and  capture,  378-382. 

Pentegoet  (Castine),  337 ;  held  by 
Saint-Castin,  345 ;  attacked  by  An- 
dros,  346. 

Perrot,  governor  of  Montreal,  28;  his 
anger' at  Bizard,  31;  arrested  at 
Quebec  by  Frontenac,  33;  the  king's 
opinion,  40;  is  restored,  65;  h's 
greed,  66 ;  his  enmity  to  Saint-C-astin, 
344;  at  the  Montreal  council,  448. 

Perrot,  Nicolas,  the  voyageur,  102  n. ; 
at  Michillimackinac,  111 ;  his  skill 
in  dealing  with  the  Indians,  112, 
145,  203,  206. 

Philip's  (King)  war,  220. 

Phips,  Sir  William,  commands  theex- 

f (edition  to  Port  Koval,  236 ;  early 
ifc  and  character,  240-242;  as  gov- 
ernor of  Massachusetts.  243 ;  his  ex- 
pedition to  Quebec,  262-285;  the 
summons  to  surrender,  266;   mis- 


takes and  delays,  268:  cannonfl.l*- 
272;  retreat,  278;  French  supply] 
shins,  282;  arrival  at  Bosto^i.  283.  1 

Port  Royal  captured,  236-240. 

Prisoners  (English),  tlicir  trealniont  in 
Canada,  377 ;  restored,  423 ;  Frencl 
among  the  Indians,  421,  424. 

Q. 

Quebec,  capital  of  Canada,  15;  mimiJ 
cipal  government  establislie<i  bi 
Frontenac,  19;  the  Lower  lowi 
bunied,  72;  greeting  to  FronttiiaCj 
191 ;  design  of  attack  bv  Mn<-^^a(lni.J 
setts,  244-240  (see  Phips,  Sir  W.)i 
the  defences,  251;  arrival  of  Fkmu 
tenac  with  troops,  2.")9 ;  dcfeiic 
against  Phips's  attack,  262-278 :  it, 
imminent  danger,  279;  constructioi 
of  fortilications,  297. 


Rat  (the),  a  Huron  chief,  see  KoncHn 

rvnk, 
Rdcollet  friars  befriended  bv  Frontc 

nac,  39,  71,  323,  435 ;  their  eulogj 

of  him,  430. 
Richelieu,  184. 

Rooseboom,  a  Dutch  trader,  128,  146, 
Runaways  from  Canada,  sheltered  bj 

Dongan,  127. 
Rupert,  Fort  (Hudson's  Bay),  seized 

by  Canadians,  133. 
Ryswick,  peace  of,  422,  452. 


Saint-Castin,  Baron  de,  on  the  Penol 
scot,  221 ;  attacks  Fort  Loyal,  2-29| 
at  Castine,  337  ;  his  career,  342-.'J45J 
plan  to  kidnap  him,  359 ;  at  tlie  at 
tack  on  Pemaquid,  380 ;  on  the  Per 
obscot,  385. 

Sainte-Hc'-lene,  son  of  Le  Moyne,  132 
209 ;  in  the  attack  on  Schenectady! 
210,  214;  in  the  defence  of  Quebec 
271,273;  i.s  killed,  276. 

Saint  Louis  (Saut  de),  mission  village 
293,  309 

Saint  Louis,  Fort,  on  the  Illinois,  86| 
144. 

Saint  Sulpice,    priests   of,  29,  32.  3.tj 
42. 

Saint-Vallier,  bishop  of  Canada.  !!<>( 
applauds  Denonville,  lOil,  18  i.  ij 
Quebec,  247;  during  Phips's  alt;;!  kj 
280,  281;  relations  with  Frontenacj 


':.:i 


ilolayfl,  208:   cannniifl.H 
t,  278;    French   suppl 
arrival  at  TJoeton,  283' 
ptiired,  230-240. 
glish),  their  treat nionf  h 
r;  restored.  423;  Frend 
Indiana,  421,  424. 


Q. 

lof  Canada,  15;  nmnij 
•nment    established    hi 
l^i    the    Lower   Tow] 

ffreetinff  to  Frontunac, 
of  attack  bv  IM.T^va,  iiJ 
t6  (see  P/ii'pg,  ISir  ir.)i 
',  251;    arrival  of  ri„ii^ 

troops,  259;  defeiu^ 
's's  attack,  2f)2-278 :  it. 
in^er,  279;  construction 
ms.  297. 


iron  chief,  see  Kondin 

befriended  by  Fronto 
323,  435;  the'ir  eulogj 

>utch  trader,  123, 140. 
1  Canada,  sheltered  bj 

Hudson's  Bay),  seized 

,  133. 

of,  422,  452. 

S. 

ron  de,  on  the  Peiiob 
acks  Bort  Loval,  2iaj 
' ;  his  career,  342-345 
p  him,  359 ;  at  tlie  at 
juid,  380;on  therenJ 

on  of  Le  Moyne,  133J 
tack  on  Schenecfad) 
le  defence  of  Quel)e( 
lied,  276. 
t  de),  mission  villafre 

t,  on  the  Illinois,  8fl 

riests  of,  29,  32,  3.> 

hop  of  Canad.n,  IKij 
inville,    ](;;i,   J8!. 
iiring  Phips's  attiK 
ions  with  Fronteiiat 


'S 


